The Government’s plans to relocate the Civil Service away from
London and open new regional offices, one of its flagship
‘levelling up’ programmes, lacks detail and clear justification,
according to a new report published today (July 27).
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s
report finds it “striking” that the Cabinet Office has published
so little information on the design and rationale of its Civil
Service relocation programme.
The Cabinet Office is instead withholding key measurements for
success and exaggerating its achievements, making it difficult
for the public and Parliament to accurately judge whether the
Government is on track to reach its targets under its ‘Government
Hubs’ and ‘Places for Growth’ programmes.
As part of its 2022 property strategy, the Government has plans
to relocate 22,000 posts out of London by 2030, reduce the
proportion of Senior Civil Service posts in London to 50%, and
open around 30 new regional ‘Hubs’, while closing older offices
around the UK.
Economic losses in towns where offices are axed should be
analysed by the Cabinet Office, the report says, as well as the
benefits in areas hosting new Hubs. MPs are concerned that the
Government is not paying enough attention to the impacts of
relocation, both to local economies and Civil Service workplace
culture.
Commenting on the report, PACAC Chair said:
“The lack of consistency in relation to relocating Civil Service
jobs reveals a vagueness at the heart of a key plank of the
Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. The Cabinet Office has failed
to provide a clear account of why certain functions are located
where they are, and how relocation and regional hubs will benefit
local communities across the country, if at all.”
“While the Government appears to be making steady progress
towards its targets and has a number of successes to point to, we
have concerns with how those targets were originally arrived at
and how progress has been framed thus far. There is evidence to
show that, since 2010, Civil Service jobs have been created in
London faster than anywhere else in the country, with a net
decrease of Civil Service jobs created elsewhere in the UK.
“The Government’s latest plans have involved closing
long-established regional offices, which can have hard-hitting
impacts on local communities. This flies in the face of the
Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. We need greater transparency
and accountability of what seems to be a haphazard approach to
reforming the Government’s estates and its workforce.”
Other key recommendations:
- To increase the impact and rationale of each regional hub,
Government should coordinate local outreach work and improve its
understanding of local needs.
- Provide a statement clearly outlining the scope of planned
civil servant headcount reductions, how often civil servants work
in the office, and the impact this will have on departments’
office space needs.
- Publish within six months an analysis of the economic losses
in towns where offices are shut down, as well as the predicted
benefits in areas where new hubs will open.
- Publish details on how recruiting staff to regional offices
will lead to tangible policy differences.
- Ministers should either meet the commitment to spend
significant time working in regional offices or issue an accurate
statement of what ministers can actually commit to.
- The Government Property Agency should review and publish
within 12 months the “value for money” of the service it provides
to departments in return for charging rent.
