Mitcham and Morden’s MP has launched a savage attack on the attitude of staff at the local job centre as unemployment rockets in the area.

Employees of the London Road Job Centre Plus were labelled as “rude” and “unhelpful” by Siobhain McDonagh in a House of Commons debate last week, citing a surge in complaints about the centre.

Some people were even said to be too intimidated to complain directly to staff, fearing it might put them at the back of the line for a job or even affect their benefit claim.

The attack comes as the number of people looking for work in the constituency increased by 71 per cent over the last year - up to 2,526 compared with 1,472 12 months ago.

Ms McDonagh said: “Staff at Mitcham job centre are often thought to be rude or, at best, unhelpful.

"The jobcentre is thought to give bad advice and bad customer service on occasion.”

Minister for Employment, Jim Knight, promised to explore the complaints but stressed the 54 staff working there were doing well to deal with up to 3,000 claimants a day.

He said: “They do a good job in one of the top-performing job centres in one of the top-performing districts in the country.”

Alongside various examples of poor customer service and treatment at the centre, Ms McDonagh said one visitor was even forced to phone a call centre in Edinburgh on her mobile for permission to use a photocopier just a few feet away.

She added that Mitcham’s Citizens Advice Bureau had also dealt with a rise in complaints against the centre.

Ms McDonagh said: “I appreciate that the unemployment figures are rising again and that there will be more people for job centres to deal with, but that is all the more reason for anyone who can work to be given all the help that they need to get a job.”

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