THE Government has no plans to open a job centre in Dursley despite the growing population of unemployed.

The job centre in Dursley closed its doors in 2005 and no replacement has been made since.

A phone and computer service has been available in the library however MP for the Stroud constituency David Drew says it is not good enough and that people need a face-to-face advice.

The Department for Work and Pensions told The Gazette that it had no plans to reopen the job centre and that people can get help on their webiste or by phone.

Mr Drew, said: "It is not good enough to say you can get help on a website. People need face-to-face, personal help from experienced people to get access to get the most benefit.

"Cam and Dursley is suffering from unemployment and this is certainly a service that is needed in the area."

County councillor for Cam and Dursley Dennis Amdrewartha agreed that offering advice via the internet is not adequate. "I don’t like this middle class assumption that everyone has access to or can use the internet.

"Lots of people do not have broadband and others are mystified by it. To say you can go on the internet for information is not good enough. It just illustrates how out of touch the Government is.

Cllr Andrewartha added: "If Cam ad Dursley has a significant figure of unemployed they should certainly start looking at putting a proper office in the town."

A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions said: "While there are no plans to re-open the Jobcentre in Dursley, we have been working with partner organisations to see if we can find premises so we can provide temporary extra services to our customers.

"Also customers no longer need to visit their local Jobcentre to findout about the services available as they can find information about benefits and jobs on the Direct.Gov website or by phoning Jobseeker Direct on 0845 6060 234."