Clare Haughey highlighted the campaign against the centre’s closure at the Scottish Parliament – and says she fears its loss could be “the first of many”Cambuslang Jobcentre.(Image: Rutherglen Reformer)

The closure of Cambuslang Jobcentre was highlighted at the Scottish Parliament by local MSP Clare Haughey – who criticised the lack of public consultation over the decision and is continuing to campaign for its retention alongside hundreds of local residents who have supported her petition.

She called the buildings-based justification for the decision to move out of its premises in the town “risible” and said: “It feels like the decision has been made by someone who could not point to Cambuslang on a map.”

Now Holyrood’s business minister will be following the Rutherglen constituency representative’s lead in writing to the UK government to protest against the loss of the facility, after Ms Haughey led a debate at the Scottish Parliament on a motion which “condemns the proposed closure of Jobcentres across the UK, including Cambuslang”.

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced in July that the Main Street centre is to close as part of its plans “to leave older, poorer-quality buildings where there is a suitable job centre nearby offering better, more suitable accommodation” – with Ms Haughey saying the explanation given for the plans is that the move will “reduce the department’s property footprint and provide better value for money for the taxpayer”.

She told the Rutherglen Reformer: “Cambuslang Jobcentre is the first customer-facing centre to face closure in Scotland under cuts from this Labour government. If this goes ahead, I fear it will be the first of many.

“It is outrageous that this announcement was made without any prior consultation with elected members, communities, service users or DWP unions or employees; there has also been no equality impact assessment on those with disabilities and those with caring responsibilities.”

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“This closure will have a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable in our society. It is essential that Labour reconsiders this decision and undertakes a proper consultation. As the SNP did with Tory-announced cuts in 2017, I will fight this closure every step of the way.”

Ms Haughey told how she and the local community had successfully fought a previous proposed closure of the centre in 2017, and noted similar support this time from service users, residents, local businesses and the “well-kent and well-respected” Cambuslang Community Council and their “unequivocal opposition to any closure, citing the disproportionate impact that it would have on vulnerable people and those who live in areas of deprivation”.

Speaking at Holyrood, she said: “Hundreds of local residents have now signed my petition against the closure, and many of them have shared their stories with me – those people would be seriously impacted by any closure, and I have heard fears around accessibility, travel time and the threat of punitive sanctions for being late or missing an appointment.

“The DWP has claimed that the Jobcentre’s proposed closure is part of its plans to leave ‘older, poorer-quality buildings’; that supposed justification would be risible if it was not so insulting.

“Cambuslang Jobcentre is situated in a bright, accessible, modern building in a central location in the town. It is co-located with other vital services including award-winning employment champion Routes to Work South, [and] the DWP invested more than £200,000 of public money just a couple of years ago. The rationale does not wash with the residents of Cambuslang and it does not wash with me.”

She added: “There has been absolutely no consultation whatsoever with communities, service users, elected members, trade unions or DWP employees” about the plans to close the Cambuslang centre from January – with staff and service users to be relocated to Rutherglen, with that office in turn currently closed for a four-month refurbishment ahead of the move and users being sent to Hamilton and East Kilbride.

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Ms Haughey highlighted 2017 guidelines suggesting that public consultation would be required if any closure required a public transport journey of more than 20 minutes to the alternative centre, adding: “My constituents in Halfway, Drumsagard or Lightburn would face a 90-minute walk or a journey of at least 30 minutes to Rutherglen, and my constituents in Greenlees would face up to a 45-minute journey.”

MSP Clare Haughey.(Image: Rutherglen Reformer)

She said: “The UK government’s behaviour has been nothing short of disgraceful. It has provided a flimsy rationale that does not stand up to any sensible scrutiny, has not matched the extremely low threshold to trigger consultation [and] has flat-out ignored elected members’ requests for meetings and further information.”

The Rutherglen MSP also drew Holyrood colleagues’ attention to the recent motion unanimously agreed by South Lanarkshire Council hitting out at the closure and lack of consultation, and instructing the authority’s chief executive to write to the DWP outlining its opposition to the closure.

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Annie Wells, the Glasgow region Conservative MSP, also spoke in the Scottish parliament debate, adding: “The closure will have real consequences for people in Cambuslang who are trying to find work, support their families and rebuild their lives. We are asking vulnerable people to travel significantly further to Rutherglen; that is not accessibility, it is exclusion.

“The decision was taken without any meaningful consultation with residents, councillors or community groups, and that lack of transparency is unacceptable. Local voices matter. The people of Cambuslang deserve better than to have decisions made about them, without them.

“Cambuslang has already lost too many local services in recent years. I also call on the UK government to pause this closure, to properly consult local representatives, service users and employers and to commit to a full equality and accessibility impact assessment before any final decision is made.”

Responding to Ms Haughey’s statement that she has “yet to receive a substantive reply” nearly three months after writing to the Westminster government to outline her constituents’ concerns, business and employment minister Richard Lochhead promised to “write to UK ministers to indicate the strength of feeling among some parties in the chamber, seek a response to her and others’ concerns and will probe for more information about timescales [and] ask why there was no consultation, among other issues”.

He said: “Many of our Scottish Government ministers, including me, share the concerns that Clare Haughey and other members have expressed about the closure of Cambuslang Jobcentre, particularly given the lack of consultation with those impacted.

“The decision certainly risks making it more difficult for people to access the support that the DWP provides and could increase the instances of sanctions as a result of additional travel time to attend jobcentre appointments. The closure may have an indirect impact on people’s access to devolved employability services in South Lanarkshire, and we are therefore disappointed that we were not consulted.”

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A spokesperson for the DWP told the Rutherglen Reformer when the closure was announced in July: “This relocation helps us use our buildings more efficiently, without affecting the service we provide. Customers can still access local face-to-face services, with our analysis showing all live within three miles of Rutherglen Jobcentre.

“Ahead of the relocation from Cambuslang , we are undertaking significant improvements to the Rutherglen site to create a more modern working environment for staff and to better serve our customers.

“For the safety of staff and customers while the work is ongoing, Rutherglen Jobcentre will need to temporarily close from September 2025, reopening January 2026.”

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