Labour’s regional growth plan sees 12,000 civil servants moved outside London
The government is on a mission to relocate 12,000 civil servant jobs across the UK to save taxpayers money — to the tune of £94m a year by 2032.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told the BBC this morning he hopes relocating civil servants “will make this government one that better reflects the country it serves.”
McFadden’s plan also entails the closure of 11 offices in London. One of the buildings that will be shut down is 102 Petty France, which houses 7,000 civil servants across the Ministry of Justice and its agencies.
50 per cent of senior civil servants will be expected to be based in regional offices by 2030. New campuses will be built in Manchester and Aberdeen, amongst other cities.
The new Manchester campus will focus on digital innovation and AI while the Aberdeen site will be focused on energy. A third site is to be announced shortly.
Meanwhile, the government plans to shutter the giant Petty France building in Westminster, which currently houses 7,000 civil servants in the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, Crown Prosecution Service and the Government Legal Department.
The Labour government has been vocal about their mission to bring about economic growth across the UK’s many regions.
But not all regional office moves have been successful. The Office for National Statistics has faced questions over the accuracy of its labour market figures after the bulk of its operations were shifted from London to Newport in Wales.
Job cuts ahead
The announcement comes after a series of proposed job cuts by McFadden to the UK public sector, including through “mutually-agreed” redundancies aimed at culling 1,200 civil servants.
This is part of a wider push by McFadden, the de jure minister responsible for the civil service, to digitise the UK’s public sector. McFadden said he wanted to embrace technology which allows meetings to take place online.
McFadden’s Conservative counterpart, Alex Burghart, accused Labour of “shuffling things around and making empty promises.”