Work to reinstate Jobcentre has not stopped

The Town Council's Community Affairs Committee would like to remind readers that its work to reinstate some kind of Jobcentre here, in Monmouth has not stopped. We are mystified by the Web Poll in the Beacon last week, which claims that 80% of voters say the present arrangement is ‘fine'.

 Ever since the closure of the Jobcentre we have collated and forwarded the complaints and anxieties of jobseekers who find themselves compulsorily travelling to Abergavenny.  We have achieved an agreement that Ross or Coleford  Jobcentres may be used instead, but this, we understood, is not much of a concession as transport is still such a problem.

If the Web Poll, is correct, we are amazed, as it runs counter to what people tell us in person. Those frustrated jobseekers asking for information via the phone in the One Stop Shop do not give the impression of being satisfied with the arrangement. Neither do those trying to carry on the normal work of the helpdesk in the same space.

 The Petitions Committee of the National Assembly has been persistent, on our behalf, in trying to trace how Monmouth's portion of £1.7 billion has been spent. That was the sum allocated by central government at UK Ministry of Work and Pensions last spring, to alleviate unemployment. The result had been some fairly dismissive letters from Jobcentreplus in Cardiff. However, last November one of the management team from Jobcentreplus S.E. Wales came to see the Monmouth phone in use and meet the One Stop Shop management staff. Some useful discussions were had at last.

We continue to request a proper interview room staffed by Jobcentreplus , even one day a week.

 May we urge anyone who finds the survey does not tally with their own experience, please phone the Town Clerk 01600 715662 or tell their Town Councillor.