More than 11,000 government roles have been relocated out of London and across the UK under the Places for Growth programme, the Cabinet Office has announced.
The north-west has seen the most roles created, with around 2,100 government jobs previously based in London now operating from Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Sefton. Yorkshire and Humber has also benefited significantly from the jobs boost, with around 1,800 more civil servant roles now based in Leeds and Sheffield.
Around eight out of ten roles relocated under the programme have been filled by local people. For example, Home Office roles tackling exploitation and abuse which were previously operating in London are now based in the north-west while Cabinet Office officials working on the government’s counter-fraud response are also now working in Manchester. Both departments have moved around 450 roles to Greater Manchester so far.
Government modelling expects that the programme will provide an economic boost of between £260m – £1.4bn in total across the country, helping to deliver on one of the Prime Minister’s key promises to grow the economy.
Latest relocation studies suggest a local economic benefit of £30 million per 1,000 roles relocated, which suggests the moves to Greater Manchester could generate more than £60 million in economic benefits to the area.
Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin visited the site of a new Hub in Manchester which is set to be completed by 2025. He said: “The programme to move government roles out of London is a key part of the plan to deliver on the Prime Minister’s top priorities, particularly when it comes to growing the economy across the whole UK.
“By putting local voices at the heart of policy-making, we’re also moving power out of Westminster and into the hands of communities.
“I am so pleased to be in Manchester today as we kick off construction on the new First Street Government Hub, which will enable hundreds of jobs to move to Manchester and bring millions of pounds to the local economy.”
The Places for Growth programme has committed to moving 22,000 roles out of London by 2030. Its core aim is to utilise the vast talent pool spread across the UK, whilst ensuring that the civil service is reflective of the communities it serves.
The 11,168 roles relocated so far mean that over half of this target has been met in less than three years, with further roles set to move in the near future.
These include 700 roles which will move to the Manchester First Street Hub, a c12,000 square metre development which will open in 2025 to provide a new home for civil servants currently based in Manchester, in addition to staff relocated from London.
Once complete the site will be one of the largest for cross-government collaboration outside London, providing office accommodation and different types of areas for people to work and collaborate, as well as enabling efficiencies through digitally-enabled office space.
Ben Rimmington, a Director General at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, was previously based in London before moving North to be closer to family. He said: “It has been a really fantastic experience to lead the growth of the BEIS and now DESNZ presence in Salford.
“I have been hugely impressed by the collective commitment to show that you don’t have to be in London all the time to do even the most senior ‘Whitehall’ jobs, and I think people are seeing that you can now build a rewarding, varied career in the Civil Service without having to move to the South East.”
