The roll-out of the Jobcentre Plus office network : forty-fourth report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

Between 2002 and 2008 the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) replaced over 1,500 jobcentres and social security offices across Great Britain with a network of just over 800 modernized Jobcentre Plus offices.

The aim was to improve significantly the job-seeking experience and the delivery of benefits by providing a service similar to that offered by a bank or modern retailer.To achieve such a radical shift the Department merged the Employment Service and the Benefits Agency into a new integrated service Jobcentre Plus.

This roll-out was one of the largest public sector construction programs undertaken in the UK in recent years.Following are the Committee's conclusions: having learnt lessons from early difficulties, the project was successful in delivering nearly all the planned offices, while making savings against the original budget of GBP 2.2 billion; the estate rationalization generated savings of GBP 135 million a year and the Department estimates that the roll-out will ultimately lead to cumulative benefits of GBP 6 billion; the successful delivery of the programme can be attributed to sound governance, intelligent use of existing guidance and external advice, strong support from the leadership of the organization and, critically, the consistent senior management team; the successful implementation of the project has important lessons for other major government programs; and, the February 2008 National Audit Office (NAO) report on this topic, 'The Roll-out of the Jobcentre Plus Office Network (HC 346)' (ISBN 9780102952971), is available to buy separately.