Wigan job centre set to close its doors within weeks

Jobcentre Plus opened at Mesnes House, on Mesnes Street, in January 2022, with a team of 46 new and experienced work coaches offering support to people looking for employment.

But it has been named in a list of 20 job centres across the country which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to shut by the end of next month.

The closures will affect temporary job centres that were set up during the Covid-19 pandemic to allow the following of social distancing guidelines.

Government officials have confirmed that staff working in the affected branches will not be made redundant following the closures. Instead, they will be moved to work at their closest job centre.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We no longer need the temporary space we acquired during the pandemic to accommodate social distancing. To continue providing our essential employment support and other services in a way that is cost efficient for the taxpayer, we are phasing out these temporarily leased sites and staff and all customer services will return to the nearby established jobcentre.

“The closing of these temporary sites will not reduce our levels of service or access to face-to-face appointments. Customers will return to being served by their established job centre and there will be no reduction in the number of work coaches serving customers as a result.”

The job centre at Brocol House, on King Street in Wigan, will remain open.