Sharon Hodgson launches petition to fight hundreds of civil service jobs moving from Washington to Sunderland

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) announced last week that it would be closing its offices at Durham House near The Galleries, and moving the 945 jobs to Wear View House in Sunderland city centre .

Durham House will close its doors in December this year.

The move is the largest closure in a wider package announced by the Government on Thursday, March 17.

The closures have been split into three categories, with some offices being retained in the short term, others closing and being consolidated into new locations, while some sites will close altogether with jobs simply being axed rather than relocated.

The move will mean 1,100 DWP job losses in the coming months, and 42 centre closures which campaigners say will risk a further 7,000 jobs, of which 1,300 are in the North East.

Now Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson is calling on the public to fight the plans, which she says will see two per cent of all employment in the constituency moving out of the town centre, with a serious knock-on effect on the town’s economy and employment.

She has launched a petition calling for the Government to reverse its decision which will be taken to Parliament.

Mrs Hodgson said the loss of so many jobs from the town centre would have a serious impact on Washington: “The Government are taking away 945 jobs from local communities who need them,” she said.

"The viability of our high streets and transport networks depends upon people living and working locally.

“They are also putting the jobs of the contracted facility staff on a cliff edge.

“This Tory Government is choosing to deliver a hammer blow to working people in the middle of a cost of living crisis. They say they are levelling up, but the reality is closing down.

“I am collecting signatures on my petition to call on the Government to reverse their decision and keep Durham House open.”

To sign the petition, visit: https://sharonhodgson.laboursites.org/keep-dwp-jobs-at-durham-house/

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