Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Friday, 20 February 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 March 2004. It was answered by Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) on Monday, 8 March 2004 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Dept for Work and Pensions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Leicester; if he will make a statement on his visit to open the outreach centre provided by Business-to-Business (UK) Ltd.

Answer: Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Leicester; [156123] (2) if he will make a statement on his visit to open the outreach centre provided by Business-to-Business (UK) Ltd. [156126] Mr. Browne: My right hon. Friend has not visited Leicester recently. However, I was pleased to be able to visit the two Jobcentre Plus Offices in Charles street and Wellington street, Leicester on 4 February 2004, where I met staff, employers and partners who work in or use the offices. Jobcentre Plus in Leicester now offers a truly modern service, offering a range of job and benefit help to its customers--including access to more than 400,000 vacancies Europe-wide. I also visited Leicester on 25 November 2003 to open the Business-to-Business service, awarded a contract by Jobcentre Plus to deliver Outreach services to the local ethnic minority population. I look forward to seeing the results generated by this innovative provision.

Secondary information