During the meeting with the Minister I pressed upon him the unique geography and employment problems relating to the area of Inverclyde.

I urged the Minister not to treat Inverclyde with a broad brush, rather look at the circumstances and issues relevant to this specific area when deciding the future of our jobcentres.

Alongside this, I raise the issue of the long term future of the Greenock site and asked for assurances, which I received, that it will remain.

Finally, I also mentioned the rollout of Universal Credit (UC) as Inverclyde is a full service area.  I informed the Minister of the increase in volume of correspondence my office is receiving from people on Universal Credit, many of whom are waiting up to 6 weeks for financial support.  I welcome the work of Citizens Advice Scotland and others in highlighting the flaws in the current system.