The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that a job centre will close next year.

Hove job centre, in Boundary Road, will close in June 2023.

The centre will not be replaced, but rather its services will be merged with Brighton job centre, in Queen Square, which is three miles away.

“Closing Hove Job Centre - which covers Hove, Portslade and Hangleton, is a disgrace. It symbolises the complete lack of understanding by the Tory Government about the importance of community and neighbourhood,” said Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove.

The DWP says the merging of services “offers better value for money for the taxpayer”.

A spokeswoman for the department said: “The relocation will avoid forecasted life cycle works of approximately £700,000, should the Department remain at the existing building.”

The DWP said that there will be “no impact on delivery of local services”, because staff and current customer caseloads will be transferred to the new site.

Mr Kyle said: “I see the logic of avoiding a bill for renovation, but I decry the loss of a local service - a crucial local service - where people need support and help to turn their lives around. 

"This isn't about expecting people to travel 5-miles to job hunt, I'm sure the residents in Mile Oak, for example, will do this. It's about fairness and local services.”

The DWP said: “There will be support available to colleagues at the Hove centre in the coming weeks and months as the Department prepares to close the site and relocate colleagues and functions.

“In the unlikely event that this engagement identifies any colleagues who are not within mobility of Queen Square, redeployment within DWP will be the priority.”

Mr Kyle added: "I do not think the decision meets the criteria of having an alternative for claimants that is within a 3-mile radius and I will be taking this up at the highest level."

A spokeswoman for the DWP said: “In making this move, the Department will maintain a physical presence in Brighton, where it is committed to the face-to-face delivery of its services to the customers and communities that need them.”