To ask the Minister for Communities whether any assessment has been carried out by his Department of the impact of reductions to the Local Growth Fund on (i) workloads; (ii) staffing; and (iii) service delivery, within Jobs and Benefits offices.

My department recognises the negative impact that the reduction in Local Growth funding has on organisations in the community and voluntary sector and the projected reduction in support for over 8,000 people. This has an undoubted impact on service demand, including across the Jobs & Benefits office network.

My department continually reviews workloads, staffing requirements and the wider labour market. Staff in my Jobs & Benefits offices work closely with a wide range of partner organisations to deliver support that helps people into work. However, current funding levels unfortunately do not provide me with the capacity to mitigate the consequences of the reductions to the Local Growth Fund.