Thousands of civil servants to leave London as UK Government cuts costs
Thousands more civil servants are set to be moved out of London as the UK Government seeks to cut costs and “radically reform the state”.
Under plans announced on Wednesday, the Government will cut the number of civil servants working in London by 12,000 and shift jobs to a series of new regional “campuses” across the country.
The changes will also see 11 Government office buildings in London close, including its largest Westminster site, in a move expected to save £94 million a year by 2032.
Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Government was “taking more decision-making out of Whitehall and moving it closer to communities all across the UK”.
Spending review
Government departments will be expected to submit plans for relocating staff, including senior civil servants, as part of the spending review due to be completed on June 11.
The move will see two new major “campuses” created, one in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI and another in Aberdeen on energy.
Manchester is already home to major offices of the science and culture departments, while Aberdeen houses the new Great British Energy headquarters.
Other roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York, with the changes expected to bring £729 million to the local economy by 2030.
Among the offices being closed in London is 102 Petty France, the largest Government office in the capital and home to around 7,000 civil servants in the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, Crown Prosecution Service and the Government Legal Department.
The Government will also close 39 Victoria Street, which has been home to the Department of Health and Social Care since the end of 2017.
Economic growth
Mr McFadden said: “By relocating thousands of Civil Service roles, we will not only save taxpayers money, we will make this Government one that better reflects the country it serves.
“We will also be making sure that Government jobs support economic growth throughout the country.
“As we radically reform the state, we are going to make it much easier for talented people everywhere to join the Civil Service and help us rebuild Britain.”
Around 80% of civil servants – more than 400,000 people – already work outside London, but the most senior mandarins tend to be based in the capital.
Under Wednesday’s proposals, half of senior civil service roles would be based outside London by 2030.
Prospect union general secretary Mike Clancy welcomed the plans to “increase and empower” civil servants based outside London, but called for more clarity on the role of arm’s-length bodies outside the capital.
He added: “We have been here before with similar announcements, if this one is to be different, Government needs to work closely with unions both on specific relocation plans and on the wider Civil Service reform agenda.”
The Government has previously pledged to cut the total number of civil servants in an effort to make the British state “leaner” and “more productive”.
Uncertainty
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, also welcomed the proposals to move more staff out of London and allow them to “build careers for the longer term across the UK”.
But he added: “There will also be uncertainty for the thousands of civil servants affected by the office closures announced today.
“We need to hear quickly from the departments affected how this will be managed, not least how they will be affected by the office closures, relocation of roles out of London and reduction in headcount all happening at the same time.”
The Tories said the announcement showed the Government was “fundamentally unserious” about reducing the size of the state and working more efficiently.
Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart MP said: “Labour themselves admit that they have set up at least 29 new quangos since entering office whilst Angela Rayner and her ministers also appear to have never used their offices outside of London – and are instead shutting them down.
“It’s clear Keir Starmer is taking the public for fools – shuffling things around and making empty promises. Only the Conservatives are serious about reducing the size of the state and making it work more efficiently for British taxpayers.”
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It’s a bit much for the Cons to whine about the size of government when their Brexit project obviously meant increasing the size of government by duplicating huge amounts of governance that had been outsourced to Brussels.
Cardiff, there’s a surprise…
I mean, the football fans among these itinerant civil servants would rather Wrecsam, let’s face it…
it would only cost an upfront golden hello of £30 million or so to square the City council…
It would not be surprising to hear many of No 10’s civil servants would be glad to be from there…if they have any pride left after the last half a dozen prime ministers…
Like the home office it is in need of a deep clean…
Dear Canada, the UK’s Prime Minister is the smallest of men…we are shamed at every turn…
Wrexham would be a good choice. Even the fussy snobby element relocated from the centre of their universe would find it easy to get to Chester or even further afield. The saner people among them would enjoy Wrexham for its hinterland and the quality of football plus the delights of rural Wales a short haul to the west and south.
The Tory shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster does need to be serious about checking the facts when he makes claims about the size of the civil service and suggests only the Tories are willingness to cut its size. On their watch from September 2018 to September 2023 the size of the civil service grew by 23% a massive 92,000 with much of that growth coming from civil service jobs relating to Brexit.
Some jobs moving further west of Cardiff would have been nice.
Also, I hope the buildings in London are kept within British ownership if they are to be sold off (if owned).
The Whitehall estate should be sold to the highest bidder to pay down the national debt. There’s absolutely no need to keep them in “British ownership” as long as they are preserved. Indeed a Saudi conglomerate buying the Palace of Westminster to turn it into the world’s most luxurious casino would be an ideal outcome.
Jobs in Cardiff are at least accessible to folks further west unlike when they’re in London. It’s an easy commute from Swansea for example.
By the same token people residing in Cardiff should find their way to Swansea. You don’t drop off the edge of the world by passing beyond Culverhouse Cross or the services on M4 J33. People manage to travel south along A470 to work, significantly fewer go the other way. That’s what you get from excessive centralisation, no matter whether it’s Cardiff, Swansea or elsewhere.
Of course and Bridgend would be ideal for a UK government hub.
But the wider point is access to jobs is more important than location. If the UK was a successful state, the original jobs in London would’ve been accessible to people in Swansea because the rail link would be running at Shinkansen speeds and the journey would take an hour.
Instead a day in the UK capital costs £300 and six hours on rock hard seats.
Last time the government suggested a site that would be easily accessible for Welsh workers they came up with Slough.
The same needs to happen to the politicians. How many of our well-intentioned wet behind the ears representatives head to London, take up residence in their swanky second homes in Mayfair and become intoxicated by the imperial opulence of the Whitehall estate, and hooked on the world’s finest expensable fine dining, gallery and theatre circuit in their free time, only to forget where they came from. To quickly learn to distain the “unsophisticated” community they are supposed to represent, to lose sight of the lives of kids in their home town they’re supposed to be improving, and instead vote to… Read more »