THE Housing Executive has withdrawn its proposal to relocate eight staff from its grants office in Enniskillen to Omagh, Minister for Communities Paul Givan has confirmed.
Staff at the local office had claimed they were not consulted about the “proposed realignment” with their counterparts in Tyrone. While the proposal to move eight staff is now off the table, two employees will be relocated.
Speaking to The Impartial Reporter last week, Minister Givan said: “That is now not happening. Housing Executive has informed me that as part of the consultation the grants office in Enniskillen will be retained. That would have impacted on eight staff, two will relocate to Omagh who were looking after the Tyrone business, the six will remain in Enniskillen,” he said.
At Stormont on Monday, SDLP Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA Richie McPhillips quizzed the Minister on the development, to which he replied: “There will be some changes in how the service is delivered, but fundamentally the grants office in Enniskillen will be remaining open.”
The news has been welcomed by the local branch of Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance.
Sinn Fein’s Sean Lynch said he welcomed the decision and asked Minister Givan: “Will the workers carry out the same tasks or be allocated different roles in the future?”
“In respect of the position in Enniskillen, I know the first minister was not particularly pleased when she caught wind of what was being proposed,” replied Minister Givan.
“I know it was reported in The Impartial Reporter at the time. The Housing Executive, ultimately, takes the decisions; it has its own board. They are not decisions I take, but I know, having engaged with them on this, that they consulted the staff and looked at the properties that they either owned or leased. In Enniskillen, they own their property; therefore, the staff, as I understand it, who carry out the administration will be kept in Enniskillen. I believe there may be a member of staff availing themselves of the voluntary exit scheme. 
“Obviously, it is about delivering those services to the people. What I will say is that, whilst there will be a front office available in Enniskillen, the Housing Executive’s motivation for some of the changes it is taking forward is that it can get out to meet people in their own homes because of the accessibility issues for some of the individuals who require this support. That is a service that will be rolled out not just in Fermanagh and County Tyrone but in other areas,” he said. 

Turning to the fears over the future of the Jobs and Benefits offices in Enniskillen, Minister Givan told this newspaper: “It’s secure. In terms of the jobs in Enniskillen there are no plans for redundancies...I can confirm that there are no plans to downgrade local jobs and benefits offices.”
And again at Stormont this week, Mr. McPhillips asked Minister Givan for more information.
“Jobs and benefits offices across Northern Ireland play an important role in supporting unemployed claimants to get into work and to provide them with benefit information and advice. Jobs and benefits offices will continue to play a key customer facing role as universal credit is rolled out during 2017, and I can confirm that there are no plans to downgrade local jobs and benefits offices.”