Major change for thousands on benefits as DWP to close 36 job centres – see the full list of locations affected

DOZENS of Jobcentres will shut for good in months, affecting thousands of households on benefits.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is closing a further 36 Jobcentres as it looks to shrink its high street presence.

The closures only affect Jobcentres which were set up temporarily during the pandemic to help ensure social distancing guidelines were followed.

The DWP has said that the closure of these additional temporary sites, where they are no longer required, will not reduce its level of service or a claimants' ability to access face-to-face appointments. 

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.

"Customers will return to being served by their established Jobcentre and there will be no reduction in the number of Work Coaches serving customers as a result."

The DWP told The Sun that no staff will be made redundant and all those affected will be moved to work in other Jobcentres close by.

Here's a full list of the Jobcentres set to close their doors within the next few months:

• Bellshill
• Birmingham
• Bury Manchester
• Cardiff
• Chelmsford
• Chester
• Chesterfield
• Chichester
• Coventry
• Crawley
• Derby
• Derby
• Dudley
• Edinburgh
• Folkestone
• Kirkcaldy
• Liverpool
• London Aldgate Tower Hamlets
• London Ealing
• London Mitcham
• London Wembley
• "Manchester Stretford
• (the additional space will be decommissioned and potentially repurposed – the established Jobcentre at Arndale House will continue to provide Jobcentre services)"
• Middlesbrough
• Newton Abbott
• North Shields
• Nuneaton
• Peterborough
• Sheffield
• Southend
• Stoke on Trent
• Swinton
• Thornaby (Stockton-on-Tees)
• Watford
• West Bromwich
• Woking
• Worthing

The DWP previously announced that it was closing 20 temporary Jobcentres on February 8.

In May, a further 19 locations were shut for good.

The DWP already operates 639 permanent Jobcentres staffed with work coaches to help and support those claiming legacy benefits and Universal Credit.

Last year, the DWP announced the closure of 10 "poorer quality" Jobcentres and many were merged to help offer customers a better level of service.

Jobcentres are there to assist those on Universal Credit to find and get back into work.

When you apply for Universal Credit online, you will need to visit your local Jobcentre where you'll be assigned a work coach and a dedicated central case manager.

All the advice and help provided is free of charge and the work coach helps customers look for work that is most suited to their skills.

If you want to contact your nearest office, you can find their details using the local office search on Gov.UK.

You can write to your nearest office by using their address from the local office search.

Their address will also be on any letters you've been sent.

You can contact Jobcentre Plus about:

• New benefit claims
• Existing benefit claims
• Changing or cancelling an appointment

If you already claim Universal Credit you can contact your assigned Jobcentre by signing in to your online journal.

Claimants should expect to get a reply Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm.