THE Jobcentres which are to be closed in Glasgow are in the areas with highest deprivation in Scotland, according to a city MP.

As Employment Minister Damian Hinds used the same cost-cutting arguments to defend the closures, he was told the poorest would once again be hit the hardest.

Chris Stephens, SNP MP for Glasgow South West, led a debate in Westminster Hall on the closures.

He said the closures fail to recognise the scale of deprivation and poverty people in those communities have to deal with.

He told Mr Hinds the second most deprived area in Scotland is Carntyne West and Haghill which is within walking distance of Parkhead Jobcentre which is to be shut.

Number three is Barlanark and Easterhouse and South served by Easterhouse Jobcnetre, also to be shut.

The same indicators of poverty show Possilpark and Wyndford to be at numbers four and eight in the most employment-deprived zones.

Both are served by Maryhill Jobcentre, which is closing.

Possilpark is also at the bottom in the country for having the poorest health.

Mr Stephens said: “If you take time to look at the location of most deprived communities in Glasgow - and then overlay the map of closures - a bleak picture emerges.

“The people who are furthest from being job ready and require intensive support are now being pushed even further to the margins.”

The MP said that with the closures will come pressure on other voluntary sector agencies to cope with increased demand as more people are sanctioned or face difficulty meeting job-seeking obligations.

Mr Stephens added: “It is clear the industrial levels of denial about the impact of these closures is accompanied by an expectation that other agencies will pick up the pieces and that, as per usual, local councils and third sector bodies, like Citizens' Advice, will carry the burden of mitigating these cuts.”

Mr Hinds repeated the UK Government’s line that the end of a 20-year office leasing contract provided an opportunity to review the estate and proved value for money for the tax payer.

Glasgow MPs suggested co-location of Jobcentres with other services in communities.

Mr Hinds said there would 40 such arrangements across the UK but didn’t say it was ever considered for Glasgow.