Job centre closure plan condemned

Plans to close a town's job centre are being criticised by Derbyshire County Council.

A review of job centre offices across Derbyshire led to a proposal to close the Jobcentre Plus office in Belper.

Council officials said the closure would be "seriously detrimental" to the area.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said there was no final decision yet and the comments from the consultation were being considered.

"The consultation period regarding Belper Jobcentre has now finished.

"We are carefully considering all the comments and expect to make an announcement in the autumn."

'Economic downturn'

Jobcentre Plus is considering closing the Belper branch because more people are getting information via the phone, email or internet.

According to the council, the Belper office has a catchment of nearly 25,000 people.

Cabinet member for regeneration Geoff Carlile said: "We consider this closure would be seriously detrimental to residents in the area.

"Given the current economic downturn there is likely to be an increasing demand for these services, and now is not the time to be considering closing it down."