![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_nip_rgr_151216jobcentre_2JPG.jpg\")
Cambuslang Jobcentre.(Image: Rutherglen Reformer)<\/p>\nClare 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)<\/p>\n
The closure of Cambuslang Jobcentre was highlighted at the Scottish Parliament by local MSP Clare Haughey \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
She called the buildings-based justification for the decision to move out of its premises in the town \u201crisible\u201d and said: \u201cIt feels like the decision has been made by someone who could not point to Cambuslang on a map.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Holyrood\u2019s business minister will be following the Rutherglen constituency representative\u2019s 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 \u201ccondemns the proposed closure of Jobcentres across the UK, including Cambuslang\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire – iOS <\/a>– Android<\/a><\/p>\n The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced in July that the Main Street centre is to close<\/a> as part of its plans \u201cto leave older, poorer-quality buildings where there is a suitable job centre nearby offering better, more suitable accommodation\u201d \u2013 with Ms Haughey saying the explanation given for the plans is that the move will \u201creduce the department\u2019s property footprint and provide better value for money for the taxpayer\u201d.<\/p>\n She told the Rutherglen Reformer:<\/a> \u201cCambuslang 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Neighbourhood Watch awards for Rutherglen volunteers<\/a>READ MORE: Lanarkshire politicians hit out at Glasgow boundary congestion proposals<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cwell-kent and well-respected\u201d Cambuslang Community Council<\/a> and their \u201cunequivocal opposition to any closure, citing the disproportionate impact that it would have on vulnerable people and those who live in areas of deprivation\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking at Holyrood, she said: \u201cHundreds of local residents have now signed my petition against the closure, and many of them have shared their stories with me \u2013 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DWP has claimed that the Jobcentre\u2019s proposed closure is part of its plans to leave \u2018older, poorer-quality buildings\u2019; that supposed justification would be risible if it was not so insulting.<\/p>\n \u201cCambuslang 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 \u00a3200,000 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.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cThere has been absolutely no consultation whatsoever with communities, service users, elected members, trade unions or DWP employees\u201d about the plans to close the Cambuslang centre from January \u2013 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.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: It’s time to Go Wild for this week’s CamGlen Beat the Street<\/a><\/p>\n 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: \u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n She said: \u201cThe UK government\u2019s 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\u2019 requests for meetings and further information.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rutherglen MSP also drew Holyrood colleagues\u2019 attention to the recent motion unanimously agreed by South Lanarkshire Council<\/a> hitting out at the closure and lack of consultation, and instructing the authority\u2019s chief executive to write to the DWP outlining its opposition to the closure.<\/p>\n READ MORE: South Lanarkshire to explore visitor levy scheme<\/a>READ MORE: Outrage as dozens of trees are felled at East Kilbride restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n Annie Wells, the Glasgow region Conservative MSP, also spoke in the Scottish parliament debate, adding: \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cCambuslang<\/a> 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to Ms Haughey\u2019s statement that she has \u201cyet to receive a substantive reply\u201d nearly three months after writing to the Westminster government to outline her constituents\u2019 concerns, business and employment minister Richard Lochhead promised to \u201cwrite to UK ministers to indicate the strength of feeling among some parties in the chamber, seek a response to her and others\u2019 concerns and will probe for more information about timescales [and] ask why there was no consultation, among other issues\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cMany of our Scottish Government ministers, including me, share the concerns that Clare Haughey and other members have expressed about the closure of Cambuslang<\/a> Jobcentre, particularly given the lack of consultation with those impacted.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019s access to devolved employability services in South Lanarkshire, and we are therefore disappointed that we were not consulted.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Scottish SPCA appeal for dog blankets and cat toys at Lanarkshire rescue centre<\/a><\/p>\n A spokesperson for the DWP told the Rutherglen Reformer when the closure was announced in July: \u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAhead 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.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the safety of staff and customers while the work is ongoing, Rutherglen Jobcentre will need to temporarily close from September 2025, reopening January 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n *Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n And did you know Lanarkshire Live<\/a> had its own app? Download yours for free here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clare Haughey highlighted the campaign against the centre’s closure at the Scottish Parliament – and says she fears…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,32142,918,4884,14683,26703,95483,919,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-500209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-cambuslang","10":"tag-glasgow","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-lanarkshire","13":"tag-lanarkshire-news","14":"tag-lanarkshire-politics","15":"tag-rutherglen","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115375544311327717","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760490976_914_0_dmp_rgr_180419trinity_010JPG.jpg\")
MSP Clare Haughey.(Image: Rutherglen Reformer)<\/p>\n