Scottish Greens MSP Alison Johnstone says the system is fairly complex and asks about implied consent.

Neil Couling from the DWP says there is no implied consent because the claimant has access to all the information the DWP has on them.

Mr Couling says there is a principle that the data belongs to the claimant, not the DWP.

Ms Johnstone asks if this is the case with live.

Mr Couling says it is not and that live has implied consent.

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SNP MSP George Adam asks if staff are encouraged to do sanctions.

Neil Couling says the DWP does not do this and says there is no target for sanctions.

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Neil Couling from the DWP says he will focus on what is going wrong.

SNP MSP George Adam says you cannot only look at things that are going right and look through rose tinted glasses.

Mr Adam accuses Mr Couling of being flippant, a charge the DWP representative denies.

The SNP MSP says some of the pilot schemes down south had issues and they have just been transferred to Musselborough and elsewhere.

Mr Couling says there is an issue at the start of a UC claim with arrears.

Image source, PA

Click here for everything you need to know about Scotland's budget.

Denise Horsfall from the DWP says she cannot give assurances about the other Jobcentres in Scotland.

Conservative MSP Gordon Lindhurst asks if the consultation is pointless.

Ms Horsfall says the consultaion on for the three sites in Glasgow it is to listen and she will take away the fact the consultation is too short.

SNP MSP Sandra White says the committee is very concerned about the short consultation time.

Neil Couling from the DWP says : "I have heard the message very clearly."

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Finance Secretary Derek Mackay is to publish the Scottish government's budget plans for the coming year.

Mr Mackay will set out his tax and spending plans following the weekly session of first minister's questions.

Opposition parties will get the chance to outline their own priorities while putting questions to the minister.

The budget proposals will be scrutinised by parliament and Holyrood's committees, with final votes taking place in February.

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Neil Couling from the DWP says he is not trying to hide behind the argument that it's very complicated, but it is quite complicated.

Mr Couling says: "It is quite a tricky thing to do."

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Committee convener and SNP MSP Sandra White says the DWP must have known the Jobcentres were to close for months.

Ms White says claimants are only really being given a week in the consultation, due to Christmas.

Denise Horsfall from the DWP says "the timescales did not just drop out of fresh air".

Ms Horsfall says she only knew about the closures when the negotiations were finished with landlords.

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Labour MSP Pauline McNeill says she is not convinced this will provide a better service for Glasgow.

Ms McNeill asks about the three closures and five mergers and says it is extraordinary there has been hardly any consultation time at all.

Denise Horsfall from the DWP says travel times for customers were estimated with Google Maps and Travel Line.

She says: "There is further work to do without a doubt."

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Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins asks if three Jobcentres will close in Glasgow and also about mergers of Jobcentres.

Ms Horsfall says there are eight Jobcentres in the consultations and five are within the guidelines of what is a reasonable distance to travel and are not for full consultation.

She says there are no job losses and individuals will receive a better service than is currently available.

Ms Horsfall says the deadline for the consultation is the 18th of January.

Benefit claimants in Glasgow may have to travel further for employment services under UK government plans to close half the city's 16 job centres.

The Scottish National Party described the proposal as "morally outrageous".

Image source, PA

It said those from the poorest areas would face higher travel and phone costs, making it harder to seek work.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the closures would save public money and reflected an increase in use of online and telephone services.

Under the plans, there would be no job losses among Jobcentre Plus staff, while claimants would not have to travel further than four miles or 40 minutes.