YASMIN Qureshi, MP for Bolton South, has launched a petition in a bid to stop the government closing Farnworth Jobcentre.

Ms Qureshi said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had brought forward the proposed closure,originally scheduled for next year, ‘without any meaningful consultation with the local community’.

And she has also claimed the department had not considered the impact the closure would have.

Writing on the 38 Degrees website, which hosts her petition, she said: “Farnworth is a deprived area, and residents rely on the support provided by their local Jobcentre, not only for help in finding employment, but also for benefit advice, access to computers and telephones.

“Farnworth Jobcentre is extremely busy and is valued by local residents, and to remove yet another service from Farnworth town centre means that unemployed and disabled residents will be further disadvantaged and could be pushed even further into poverty.

And she also questioned why Bolton would retain two Jobcentres, in Blackhorse Street and Great Moor Street.

She said: “Bolton has two Jobcentres only a few hundred yards apart, yet Farnworth will be left with none. This simply makes no sense. Surely it would be better to close one of the Bolton Jobcentres and keep the one in Farnworth open?

The petition can be signed at you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-farnworth-jobcentre