Drop-in sessions are available to residents in the Wealden district needing help and guidance on employment.

Wealden District Council has been working in partnership with the Job Centre Plus Eastbourne to bring the sessions to residents.

Job Centre Plus staff are available in the public access area of the council offices in Vicarage Field, Hailsham, every Monday and Thursday between 9am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 3pm. Residents can book an appointment with their employment advisor or walk in for general career advice.

This initiative helps many Wealden residents who would have had to travel far distances, often by public transport, to attend employment meetings and receive career advice from their appointed Job Centre Plus employment advisor. For example, claimants living in Hailsham and surrounding areas, would have needed to travel to Eastbourne.

Wealden District Council has also worked closely with other neighbouring Job Centre Plus venues to deliver employment events and is continuing to work together to explore the expansion of the outreach service to other areas of the district.

Councillor Rachel Millward, Alliance for Wealden (Green Party) and lead councillor for Housing & Benefits and leader of the council said, “As Hailsham is an area of relatively high deprivation, health inequalities and has the largest density of claimants of Universal Credit within the district, the outreach service began in this area. It enables the Job Centre Plus to provide services to our residents which otherwise may not have been available.

“The outreach service began in July 2023 and has seen good interaction, especially with younger claimants. Since October, almost 400 people have attended the weekly sessions. Discussions are ongoing to increase the outreach programme to other areas of the district.”

Piers Harrison, customer service leader for Job Centre Plus said, “It has been fantastic to provide DWP outreach to Hailsham, providing support, job opportunities and training to customers living in a high deprivation area. The Work Coaches who helped setup the project absolutely love working there and daily improve the lives of customers who attend. We have seen many fantastic outcomes and certainly examples where this would not been the case had customers not been seen in the council office. We have already extended the service by one day and are currently considering if we could offer even more because of demand and the success of the project”