Hart Opens New Jobs Surgeries (updated 14/10/09)

HART District Council’s housing service has launched a ground breaking new Job Centre Plus outreach service for Hart residents looking for work.

The service will be available at Hart’s Civic Offices in Fleet every Friday from 9am to 12:30pm. Job seekers from Hart currently have to visit Farnborough, Camberley or Basingstoke Job Centres.

The outreach service is one of the first in the country and has been designed to help with unemployment during the recession. This proposal is part of an advanced housing option initiative designed to limit the impact of the economic downturn. It is intended to create greater availability of the Job Centre Plus service and to open doors to residents who might not normally approach the Job Centre for assistance in gaining employment.

All Job Centre Plus services will be available at Fleet including new and existing claims, better off at work calculations, assistance with finding work and training. The potential exists for further outreach support to other areas such as Hook. At present the service does not support "signing on" which still needs a visit to the main office but we hope to add this to the service in due course.

Hart Housing Options Officer, Troy Wolski describes the move as “a fantastic opportunity to support Hart residents”. He points out that it is being provided by the Job Centre at no cost to the district.

Cllr Susan Band, Cabinet Member for Housing and Health, commented: “I welcome this excellent move to offer advice on both jobs and housing under the same roof. It is a really practical way of helping those who are seeking employment and housing in these difficult times.”

To access the Job Centre Plus outreach service, please contact the housing department on 01252 774420 or email housing.services@hart.gov.uk