Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame) SNP

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-03873, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on the future of the Jobcentre Plus network. 14:44

The Minister for Employability and Training (Jamie Hepburn) SNP

Thank you, Presiding Officer. We recently debated proposals from the United Kingdom Department for Work and Pensions to close Jobcentre Plus facilities in Sc...

Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con) Con

Will the minister give way?

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I will, of course, give way to Mr Tomkins, who will understand the Smith commission agreement very well, given that he was on the commission.

Adam Tomkins Con

I am not solely responsible for having written every word of the Smith commission agreement, but I thank the minister for the compliment. There is much in t...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Let me make it clear that I did not mean accepting the intervention to be a compliment to Mr Tomkins, and I am aware that he did not write the entire Smith c...

Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con) Con

From the day that I discovered that the DWP had plans to close a number of jobcentres—initially in Glasgow and then across Scotland more broadly—I articulate...

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

The member rightly talks about having a UK perspective on jobcentre closures, but does he think that Glasgow—the city that he represents—is ready for half of...

Adam Tomkins Con

I have said before that I think that all eight of the proposed Glasgow jobcentre closures should be put out to public consultation. I have made that point to...

Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) SNP

Leaving aside the fact that I might have some issues with the statistics that Mr Tomkins used on the fall in the claimant count, does he accept that those wh...

Adam Tomkins Con

I accepted that point when we debated Mr Doris’s motion on 19 January, and I accept it now. I was about to say that, all of that said, as I said in our previ...

Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) SNP

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. The debate is about jobcentre closures, but Mr Tomkins is talking about police stations, which have nothing whatsoeve...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Thank you, Ms White. That was not really a point of order. I have already considered whether Mr Tomkins has moved too far away from his amendment. I understa...

Adam Tomkins Con

Thank you, Presiding Officer. As I understand it, Pollokshaws police station might close, as might Saracen police station—which I think is in Bob Doris’s co...

John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

Adam Tomkins Con

Not on this occasion. It is also important to understand what is not happening with regard to jobcentres. The DWP’s proposals are about enhancing services, ...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I want to pick up on the member’s point that there are no planned job losses. I accept and readily concede that I am at an advantage in having received a let...

Adam Tomkins Con

The minister has been assiduous in sharing with Glasgow MSPs and members of the Social Security Committee correspondence that he has received from UK Governm...

Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green) Green

Will the member give way?

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Please sit down, Mr Greer.

Adam Tomkins Con

I asked how they knew that, because I knew that the issue of how jobcentre capacity is measured has been challenged in the House of Commons, and they told me...

Clare Haughey (Rutherglen) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

The member is in his last minute.

Adam Tomkins Con

I am in my last two seconds. The other two thirds of the building are being used by other Government departments. It illustrates the magnitude of what we ar...

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab

The closure of 23 jobcentres that the DWP is pursuing will affect deprived communities across Scotland, from Lanarkshire and Glasgow to the Western Isles and...

Adam Tomkins Con

There are 713 jobcentres in Great Britain. I want to ensure that I have understood the Labour Party’s position. Is that position that there are no circumstan...

Mark Griffin Lab

If the Conservative Government invested in public services and got people into work, and if we had a zero unemployment rate, maybe there would be a case for ...

Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) SNP

On Monday, Patrick Grady MP and I met single parents who will be impacted by the jobcentre closure in Maryhill. I thank the Minister for Employability and Tr...

Adam Tomkins Con

Will the member take an intervention?

Bob Doris SNP

If I have time.