Hove Insolvency Service office to close

A union has condemned a plan to close Insolvency Service offices, including one in Hove, saying it puts more than 300 jobs at risk.

The Public and Commercial Service union (PCS) said the Government had announced that 10 offices providing information on bankruptcy, redundancy, paying off debts, company insolvency and misconduct of trading companies and partnerships would be closed over the next five years.

One of the offices is in City Gate on Dyke Road, Hove. The others are in Cambridge, Watford, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Chatham, Reading, Southampton, Bristol and Plymouth.

After the closures, nine offices in England will remain open, along with one in Cardiff and another in Edinburgh.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This is yet another blow to hard-working civil servants, who are treated with utter contempt by the Government.

“Their work is constantly undervalued by ministers; these office closures follow hard on the heels of 42 Department for Work and Pensions office closures across the UK.

“We shall not sit back and witness our civil service being systematically destroyed in front of our eyes.

“We shall fight these closures, as we’re fighting the DWP office closures, because cuts have consequences, not only for our members, but for those who use these important services.”

An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: “Transitioning to regional centres will see us become a more modern and streamlined organisation in the right locations for our customers, enabling us to focus on improving our services while delivering best value for money for taxpayers.

“We do not want to lose our excellent people, which is why there will be a comprehensive package of support measures to help our staff in the transition to new working arrangements over the next three to five years.”