No plans to shut Cambridge job centre

Job centre will remain situated in Chesterton Road

Fears that Cambridge’s job centre is under threat of closure have been dismissed by the government.

The lease on the current building in Chesterton Road expires in April – sparking doubts over the future of the centre.

The Department of Work and Pensions, which owns the lease, has already announced a number of job centre closures and amalgamations which are planned to take place next year.

The Cambridge office was originally earmarked for retention when plans to revamp the job centres were first announced at the start of the year, and nothing has changed.

A spokesman for the DWP said: “The Cambridge office was originally marked for retention and there has been no change.

“There are no issues with the lease and we will be keeping the office.”

Plans to reform the job centres were announced because space in 20 per cent of them was being under-used.

Some smaller job centres are to be merged with larger ones, and others co-located with local government premises. The changes will offer a more efficient service and save around £180 million a year for the next 10 years.