AS unemployment rises, a call has been made by MP Geoffrey Cox to restore two Jobcentre services in West Devon.

West Devon and Torridge MP Mr Cox has called on the Government and Jobcentre Plus to restore services to Okehampton and Tavistock, ensuring local people do not have to travel to Plymouth in order to gain access to benefits and services.

Earlier this year it emerged that in the time since the Jobcentre branches in Tavistock and Okehampton were closed, unemployment had soared in the constituency by 68.5%. 

The Tavistock and Okehampton Jobcentres were closed in March 2008 in the Government programme of Jobcentre cuts, whch saw the closure of 54 branches last year.

The closures went ahead despite the fact that unemployment has risen consistently since January 2008. However, in January 2008, 953 people were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in West Devon and Torridge. And by January 2009, the figures showed the number of claimants had risen by 68.5% to 1,606, which is higher than the national rate, which has risen by 55%.

Mr Cox recently wrote to the regional director of Jobcentre Plus, Michelle Maslen, urging the setting-up of an outreach service in Tavistock. In response, the MP has been told a review will be carried out and efforts will be made to set up the service.

Mr Cox, who opposed the closures last year, recently tabled a series of parliamentary questions, pressing the government to reconsider its withdrawal of Jobcentres from market towns and urging that a limit should be imposed on the distance people have to travel to obtain assistance.

He intends to raise the issue again in Parliament soon.

Mr Cox said: 'Every week, I receive letters and emails from hard-pressed people in West Devon who are being forced to travel all the way to Exeter or Plymouth to get help, an expense that many can ill afford.

'The Government was grossly irresponsible to close the Tavistock Jobcentre in the first place, but I shall continue to press for a service that saves local people from travelling great distances wherever possible.'