As soon as the office closures were announced, the PCS DWP Group Executive Committee identified 11 ‘hotspot’ offices where there was the greatest risk of a significant number of redundancies resulting from the proposed office closures. These are Cumnock, Poole, Barrow, Annesley, Llanelli, Porth, Wembley, Bishop Auckland, Coatbridge, Holborn House Preston and Warrington Birchwood.

PCS is campaigning against these closures and has been pressing DWP for a full explanation as to why they have chosen offices to close where it is clear it could lead to large numbers of job losses. DWP claim that the proposed office closures are not about staffing reductions, but that claim feels hollow in offices where there is little prospect of redeployment.

What DWP have told PCS so far about why these sites have been selected

The information below on the 11 hotspot sites is the information that DWP has told PCS about the department’s reasons for proposing to close these sites.

These are not the views of PCS.

Cumnock

DWP say this is a relatively small office with 75 FTE and a capacity for c. 100 staff. It is too small to process multiple benefits and is poorer value for money than other CMG sites. Closing it would save money by reducing unneeded space. The landlord was not prepared to offer less than a 10 year lease and this lessened the site’s flexibility for the employer. DWP consider the quality of the site to be poor. There is some capacity at Kilmarnock and Ayr to expand their back of house functions that may enable some staff from Cumnock to transfer to either of these locations within mobility.

Bishop Auckland

DWP say this is another relatively small site with 69 FTE now and a capacity for 130 staff. It is too small to process multiple benefits. Closing it would save money by reducing unneeded space. The CMG work at Bishop Auckland is expected to end. DWP told PCS that they did not approach the landlord to renegotiate the rent as, it would appear, that DWP had decided early on that they wanted to close Bishop Auckland. The office is not located in the government hub in Newcastle. The nearest offices are Seaham, that DWP estimates is 57 minutes by public transport, Middlesbrough, 37 minutes by car, Sunderland, 40 minutes by car and Durham House, 48 minutes by car.

Barrow

DWP say that this is an old building that is only 27% utilised. There are 68 FTE now but capacity for 230 staff. Barrow is not aligned to the government’s hub strategy of centralising back of house civil service work in large cities. The work done at Barrow, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is slightly contracting and there is capacity at the other IIDB site in Barnsley to expand and take all IIDB work. The only office likely to be in mobility is the job centre in Barrow. The nearest other sites are the job centres in Lancaster, Kendal and Morecambe. The closest back of house location is in Preston. DWP recognised that Barrow was one of the most difficult sites selected for closure. They said that they had balanced the over-arching principles of the programme against the interests of the staff in coming to their proposal.

Poole

DWP say there are 108 FTE staff at Poole now with a capacity for 195 staff. They say that they cannot bring other benefit products into Poole. Poole is not located in a government hub area. They were not able to secure a new lease of under 10 years. They believe that Poole is a poor quality site. The only office likely to be within mobility is Poole job centre. The nearest back of house office is Southampton that DWP estimate is 55 minutes away by public transport and 50 minutes by car. Southampton had a capacity for c 100 extra staff but that office is a transition site and so is in turn expected to close by 2021.

Llanelli

DWP say this site has 100 FTE now and a capacity for 257 staff. No government estates hub locations have yet to be identified in Wales. If DWP had opted for a short term lease extension then that would have incurred a high premium. The nearest back of house site is at Swansea which DWP say is 28 minutes by car and there are likely to be vacancies there. There is also spare capacity at Pembroke Dock.

Annesley

DWP say there are 113 FTE there now and capacity for 150.It is not in a government hub location. It is an old building and would be costly to modernise. DWP estimate that Nottingham, Derby and Chesterfield are all within around 30 minutes by car.

Wembley

DWP say that this is a large site but expensive to rent. Wembley is not located in any of the government London hubs (Croydon, Canary Wharf and Stratford). DWP’s plan is to relocate all of the staff and the work to Watford, though Watford is also a transition site due to close by 2023. DWP have confirmed that Watford is a 5 year transition site and not a 3 year one as they originally stated. Merging Wembley with Watford would reduce costs and merge sites ‘in close proximity’. DWP say it is not viable in reverse. Watford is in Outer London for pay purposes. Wembley is in Inner London. DWP estimate that Watford is 28 minutes by car and 53 minutes by London underground. There are some job centres in West London that may be in the mobility of some of the staff, e.g. Acton, Harlesden, Paddington and North Kensington.

Coatbridge

DWP’s intention is to split the staff in this site between Motherwell pension centre and the new acquisition site in Glasgow Atlantic Quay. DWP estimate that Motherwell is 28 minutes by public transport and Glasgow Atlantic Quay is 35 minutes by public transport. Glasgow is a government hub location.

Porth

DWP’s plan is for the work and staff at Porth to be temporarily moved to Caerphilly and then in due course move to a new acquisition that DWP say their preferred location is close to Porth. The Porth landlord refused to agree a short term lease to avoid the need to temporarily move the staff to Caerphilly.

Birchwood

This is mainly a corporate centre site but with a small number of OED staff. The intention is to relocate the staff and work to Manchester. DWP say there are 314 FTE now at Birchwood and a capacity for 490 staff. DWP say that Birchwood does not provide the talent pool that Manchester does in terms of graduates etc. Manchester has better public transport links than Birchwood. The layout of the site makes it difficult to deliver the department’s aim of 8 square metres per staff member meaning that DWP is paying for space that cannot be utilised. Birchwood is not a government hub location. The running costs are relatively high.

Holborn House Preston

DWP say that this is a relatively small site. It has 140 FTE now and is 90% occupied, and is too small for multiple corporate centre functions. There is as yet no decision on the government hub location for this area. The site would require significant investment and refurbishment, though the rent is relatively inexpensive.   

PCS’ Conclusion

It is clear from the above information on these sites that DWP is not putting the interests of the staff who work in these sites at the forefront of their considerations. Other factors have been given greater weight and this would seem almost certain to result in job losses, unless DWP reverses its original proposals.

The GEC has of course challenged the Department’s methodology and argued that the avoidance of redundancies should be the paramount consideration in the review of the department’s estate. It is essential that we maximise the extended consultation period to mount the strongest possible arguments to persuade the employer not to go ahead with these closures.