JC: Mr Grayling is this a priority, are we talking about a lot of jobs being advertised in Job Centres for this kind of thing?
CG: There has been a steady stream over the years, when I first spotted this problem a couple of years ago and looked through Job Centre websites I found numerous adverts for pole-dancers, for lap-dancers, for web cam operators, since then there has been a public consultation, the general view that has come back to the department is that most people feel this is a bad thing and I feel strongly, we as a government want to get people off welfare and into work, there is going to be a lot of effort to get people into jobs, I don’t want any woman who goes to a Job Centre to feel that after their interview, they go across to the job point, they look at the list of vacancies and if there is an adult vacancy there I don’t want them to feel any sense that they have to apply for that, I think it is better that those adverts just don’t happen in Job Centres at all.
JC: And so this was seen as a priority for you coming in at this job to deal with this was it? Or as far as you are concerned.
CG: Well as far as I am concerned it is necessary I think to make sure that if we are putting people under-pressure to look for jobs we are trying to get people off welfare and into work, we shouldn’t be putting any woman into a position where she feels any kind of obligation to apply for a job like this, no they are not banned in this country as a whole, these clubs and licensed, but what I don’t want is vulnerable people in job centres, after long periods of time on benefits, feeling any kind of sense that they have to apply for this kind of role.
JC: Now that doesn’t mean as we said in the introduction that you are banning jobs related to working in those sorts of places does it?
CG: No, I mean you can still apply as a night-club bouncer, you can still apply as a cleaner but it is very much about jobs that actually involve direct sexual stimulation, somebody taking their clothes off for the amusement of others in a public arena and that is what we want Job Centres to stop advertising.
JC: So what is going happen from today, you have instructed all the Job Centres have you, to basically rip down those ads?
CG: We are today instructing the Job Centre Plus network to stop advertising those vacancies and you know in future the only industry related adverts that will be acceptable will be things like bouncers, things like clearers.
