THE closure of Newport's Sovereign House could damage businesses in the city centre, an MP has claimed.

Plans to close a Department for Work and Pensions office at the Kingsway building in 2021 and move all 249 staff to a new centre in Treforest were confirmed earlier this month.

Leading a debate on the plan in Parliament this week, Newport West MP Paul Flynn said it was "causing great anxiety in the city".

The Labour MP added he was concerned the full impact of the closure had not been properly considered.

"The vibrancy of the city centre depends on the workers who are there," he said.

"They have their lunch in the city, use the shops and so on, so they add to it.

"If a city is to thrive and survive, we need that working population at its heart.

"Where does that point come into the calculations of those who make the decisions?"

Mr Flynn also said he was concerned employees who agreed to relocate to the Treforest site would face long journeys to and from work every day. The bus from Newport to Treforest takes one hour and 11 minutes.

He added he believed modern technology such as Skype made it largely irrelevant where staff were located.

"We are not looking for a reversal of government policy if the change makes sense," he said. "But they have to prove that it makes sense not just in economic terms but in human terms."

Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds also spoke during the debate, and said centralising jobs in a so-called 'super-hub' "neglects the importance of having the jobs in local communities".

"It also disregards the needs of workers, particularly those with caring and family responsibilities, who have the advantage of jobs close to home," he said.

And Newport East's Jessica Morden said: "We risk not only losing those skills and expertise of those workers, but will also end up spending vast amounts more creating what will be a highly expensive super hub which people will have difficulty travelling to."

Responding to the debate, employment minister Damian Hinds said the move, which involves closing a number of job centres throughout Wales, including on in Tredegar, would save the taxpayer more than £140 million over the next 10 years.

"I understand that the relocation and consolidation of offices in south Wales will cause some disruption to staff," he said.

"To maximise the number of staff at those five offices who could transfer to the new site, we studied their home postcodes to help determine that site’s location.

"We were determined to retain staff who had built careers with us and minimise the loss of their valuable experience and expertise."

He added the government had offered to pay staff member's travel costs to the new site for up to three years.