The UK government said that thousands of civil service jobs will be relocated to 13 towns and cities across the UK as part of its Plan for Change.
As well as increasing the number of officials working in Greater Manchester and Aberdeen, where two new government campuses will be created, roles will be moved to Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York.
The changes are projected to bring £729 million in local economic benefits to these areas between 2024 and 2030.
The government said the shake up will require more senior and policy roles to be based outside London.
“Changes will be introduced so talented young people from across the UK are able to progress straight from school or university into the Civil Service and rise all the way up to the most senior roles, without ever having worked in Whitehall,” said the government.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 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.”
McFadden has written to all UK government departments requiring them to relocate key roles and strengthen the government’s presence around the UK.
Government departments now will submit plans for how many roles they plan to move to each of the locations as part of the spending review.
“Departments will be assessed on their commitments to the programme as part of the spending review,” said the government.
In total, three major new government campuses will be created.
The first two of these, the new Government Digital and AI Innovation Campus and Energy Campus, will be in Manchester and Aberdeen.
“Manchester is already home to the second HQs of DSIT and DCMS, as well as a key base for GCHQ,” said the government. “The new campus will harness the city’s reputation as a global digital hub.
“Aberdeen is the site of DESNZ’s second HQ, and the new HQ for Great British Energy.
“The new campuses will partner with local government and universities to deliver the government’s missions, improve the talent pipeline into Government and boost growth and opportunity.”
To ensure those based outside of London have equal professional growth and development opportunities, with full end-to-end careers, the government said it will locate 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants in “regional” offices by 2030.
“Alongside the relocation of jobs, 11 London office buildings will be closed over the next five years and the number of London based civil servants will reduce by 12,000 by 2030 – down from 95,000 FTE staff to 83,000 – as the government focuses on saving taxpayer money and delivering better public services across all parts of the UK,” said the government.
“The move is set to deliver £94 million in savings annually by 2032, by getting rid of large, expensive London real estate.
“The plans include the closure of two major Westminster government buildings – 102 Petty France, one of the largest government buildings in London and home to 7,000 FTE staff, and 39 Victoria Street – which together cost tens of millions of pounds a year.”