HEWLETT PACKARD JOBS AND THE DWP EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PROGRAMME

That this House is concerned that Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise Services is making redundant 124 skilled and experienced staff in Sheffield who provide specialist IT services to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) employment service programmes; notes that the Sheffield jobs are being relocated to Cobalt in the North-East of England and Erskine in Scotland and that staff wishing to apply for redeployment have not been offered relocation packages; is deeply troubled that HP is relocating some of these jobs in return for a £7 million regional selective assistance grant from the Scottish Government for delivering new jobs in Scotland; notes the potential for multinational companies to use taxpayers' money to maximise their profits and minimise wage costs while exploiting the political situation in advance of the vote on independence; is concerned that these jobs are being relocated with no apparent thought given to the consequences for the delivery of vital public services; urges HP to keep the highly skilled and experienced staff in Sheffield; and further urges Ministers to exert what pressure they can to ensure that this happens, particularly at a time of massive change in the DWP work and delivery of new systems.