JOB-HUNTING and benefits services in Ellesmere Port will soon be housed under one roof.

The Employment Service and the Benefits Agency are to be merged to create Jobcentre Plus.

The combined agency aims to provide a more efficient service for jobseekers.

More than 250 similar centres have already opened throughout the UK, and will soon be joined by ones in Ellesmere Port and Neston.

Plans for the local schemes were put on display at Whitby Sports & Social Club in Ellesmere Port for the public to see.

Refurbishment work has already begun at Neston Jobcentre as preparations go ahead for the launch of Jobcentre Plus next month.

The Brook Street office will be closed for about four weeks while the work is carried out.

Disruption to the service will be kept to a minimum, but staff apologise for any inconvenience to customers.

Ellesmere Port Jobcentre in Whitby Road will follow suit in June 2004.

Parveen Briscoe, operations manager for the borough, said: 'Both employers and jobseekers will benefit from the excellent, tailored service Jobcentre Plus has to offer.

'Employers can ensure they get the right skills for the right jobs, and jobseekers can find fulfilling and sustained employment by working together with their personal advisors.

'All this in a bright, welcoming environment with Internet access and direct telephone connections with our main business partners in Ellesmere Port, Neston and beyond.'