22 June 2004 - Jobcentre Plus celebrates major milestone
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith today opened the 500th Jobcentre Plus marking a major milestone in creating a world class employment service.
The office in Middlesbrough city centre marks the halfway stage of a £2.2 billion rollout of the innovative Jobcentre Plus service across the country.
The new offices combine job-seeking and benefit services under one roof representing a positive change in the way people are helped into work and benefits are delivered.
Mr Smith and Jobcentre Plus Chief Executive David Anderson congratulated staff on helping 2.4 million people into work since 1997 and helping 450,000 employers a year to fill their vacancies.
Mr Smith said: “Thanks to Jobcentre Plus and the New Deal Britain has one of the best labour markets in the world with record numbers of people in work and jobless figures at a 30-year low.
“By bringing jobseeking and benefit services under one roof we are transforming the help people receive. It’s about responsibilities not just rights, support not just benefit, individual services not just clumping people together.
“Our investment has created one of the most effective employment services in the world, helping millions of people move off welfare and into a job and making sure that Britain is working again.”
The rollout programme is on schedule and on budget and will result in 1,000 offices operating across the country by 2006. Across Great Britain every day Jobcentre Plus advertises 10,000 vacancies and personal advisers hold 36,000 work-focused interviews which help 4,700 people into jobs.
The service has already attracted attention from around the world, with more than 500 people from 30 countries visiting to learn from its success in the last year alone.
Mr Anderson said: “We have had to face real challenges to get where we are today but Jobcentre Plus is a major public sector success story and a testament to the professionalism and dedication of all our employees.
“We have continued to deliver day in, day out through this process of change, dealing with 10,000 new vacancies every day and saving the taxpayer more than £90 million by continuing to cut benefit fraud and error.
“We have a reputation for cutting edge service delivery around the world, but we can’t be complacent. There are still challenges ahead as we continue to improve services to the customer and complete the office network, but the effort will be worth it for everyone.”
Notes for editors
- Photographs of the 500th opening in Middlesbrough are available from the DWP press office.
- Jobcentre Plus replaced the former Employment Service and Benefits Agency. It began with 56 pathfinder offices in 2001 with the full national roll out starting in April 2002.
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