AN MP fears a million families could lose out on money they are owed and get pushed closer to poverty if civil servant jobs are lost from her constituency.

Helen Goodman says the 83 Child Support Agency staff based at Vinovium House, in Bishop Auckland, do vital work chasing CSA debt on behalf of children and parents.

According to figures from December 2016, there are 1.1million outstanding cases and £3.4bn of arrears under the old CSA system which is undergoing sweeping Government reform.

The team at Bishop Auckland had secured debt work until 2020 ensuring that children are not left out of pocket but in January the team was told by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that the office will be closing in March 2018.

Ms Goodman says it is senseless to move that work away from a trained, experienced team and has written to employment minister Damian Hinds requesting an urgent meeting to discuss her concerns about the impact that closure would have on families and staff.

She wrote: “It is vital for these million families’ welfare, with over one-and-a-half million children, that this money is recovered and paid. There is clearly no published plan for how the debt will be administered if you close Vinovium House.”

Ms Goodman has also tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the DWP to rescind its threat to close the office and continue to administer child support from the site.

In it she states the child maintenance debt averages £3,000 per family which ‘would make a significant impact on keeping these families out of poverty’. She also describes Vinovium House as a top-performing office with ‘loyal and committed’ staff who have few similar job opportunities in the area and notes it is ‘important small towns thrive’.

It has been signed by Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson and North West Durham MP Pat Glass, who each have Vinovium House employees living in their constituency.

The DWP says it is not their intention to make redundancies and consultation with staff, who could be relocated, is ongoing. The move is part of the downsizing of its estate which should save £180m over the next ten years.