THE Department for Communities has confirmed that it is currently developing proposals to restructure the local Jobs & Benefits and Social Security office network, but has insisted that there are “no plans” for any redundancies in the Enniskillen office.

Amid fears expressed by local councillors that jobs would be lost from the Queen Elizabeth Road site as a result of the changes brought about by welfare reform, the Department has said that it had an “ongoing commitment” to both the staff and public in the Enniskillen area.

A spokesperson added that local employees would be offered suitable posts in another part of the Department if there was a change in the staffing numbers in Enniskillen.

Independent local councillor, Bernice Swift, has claimed that the staff in Enniskillen had been left “completely in the dark” about possible job losses as a result of welfare reform.

Raising the issue at the monthly meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, she said: “We, as the elected representatives, most certainly need to know. I would ask that the Council meet with the department officials to have them come to us and present us their ideas and the rationale of what they may or may not be recommending.

“If it is going to be adverse and negative we must thwart it and rebuke it at every conceivable level. I think the Minister for Communities must be held to account but at this point we need to speak to the department officials.”

The independent councillor added: “As a matter of urgency, let’s get this meeting because we want to ensure that our services are saved within this super-council area.”

In responding to the council’s concerns, the department said that, in preparation for the introduction of Universal Credit in September 2017, it needed to ensure that the local Jobs and Benefits office network was “fit for purpose” for the changes to benefit delivery and the introduction of new ways of working.

“While proposals are currently being developed, no decisions have been made regarding a future delivery model,” the spokesperson said.

The department also confirmed that Enniskillen had been chosen as the site from which the Benefit Cap welfare reform initiative would be delivered. “The selection of Enniskillen as the site for the operational delivery of Benefit Cap demonstrates an ongoing commitment to both the public and staff in the Enniskillen area,” the spokesperson added. The first phase of Benefit Cap was introduced in May this year.