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First ever hub of key policy roles established outside of
London
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More than 2,400 government roles moved to Yorkshire and the
Humber under flagship Whitehall reform programme
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New local graduate scheme will establish talent pipeline
A first-of-its-kind campus for government staff in key policy
roles has been launched in Sheffield, as new figures show
Yorkshire and the Humber have benefitted from more than 2,400
relocated roles.
It comes as the Cabinet Office announces today the pilot of a new
regional fast stream, part of the government's ambitious plans to
bring jobs and drive local economic growth across the UK.
The scheme will prevent graduates having to leave the Yorkshire
region to move into decision-making policy teams.
There are also plans for expanded policy apprenticeships and
events to attract university-leavers within the city, providing
greater opportunities for the young people of Yorkshire.
Traditionally most civil service teams based outside of London
have been operationally-focussed, but the aim of the policy
campus is to create a hub of core policy jobs, where people can
advance their careers in key decision-making positions. Under
these new plans, people will no longer have to move to, or work
in, London to have a long and fulfilling career in the civil
service.
This forms part of a broader strategy to ensure people from all
regions and backgrounds are contributing to the creation of
government policies. Levelling up the civil service in this way
is key to ensuring it reflects the communities it serves,
whilst delivering on the Government’s priority to grow the
economy.
New figures show that 2,400 roles have moved out of London and
into Yorkshire and the Humber under the Places for Growth
programme, and 12,000 have been relocated out of the capital and
across the UK so far. The programme will move 22,000 government
roles out of London by 2030, in a bid to harness the vast talent
that exists up and down the country. It’s expected this will
generate economic benefits for the region as well as government
research has shown that people put around 50% of their incomes
back into the local economy.
Latest relocation studies suggest a local economic benefit of £30
million per 1,000 roles relocated.
Cabinet Office minister said:
“This Government is delivering on its promise to level up across
the country by ensuring that we create opportunities for people
across the country.
“This policy campus is a commitment to the people of Sheffield
that local people will have a central role to play in the
development of major national policies.
“Relocating roles out of London and establishing skills clusters
will provide a fantastic economic boost for the people of
Yorkshire and the Humber.
“This region has an immense array of talent and I’m delighted
that we’re going to make use of it.”
Around 1,000 civil servants working a range of departments
including the Department for Education (DfE), the Home Office and
the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) are based at the
site.
The Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for
Transport and the Cabinet Office have moved the most roles to
Yorkshire and the Humber.
637 roles have relocated into Sheffield, primarily in the Home
Office alongside more DWP, DfE and Ministry of Justice jobs which
have moved to the city under the scheme. Sheffield also has 75
senior civil servants based in the city, one of the highest
proportions outside of London.
Cabinet Office Minister and Cabinet Secretary attended the launch of the
campus with senior officials from DfE and DWP on Thursday.
Cabinet Secretary said:
“For too long in the Civil Service, talented people wanting to
build careers in specific policy areas within government have
needed to leave their home town or city and move to the South
East to get on.
“Initiatives such as this are absolutely critical if we’re going
to remove that barrier and spread fulfilling career opportunities
across the whole of the UK.
“We need people with a broad range of experiences, backgrounds
and insights if we are going to deliver for the whole of the UK
and initiatives such as the Sheffield Policy Campus will allow us
to do exactly that.”
The plans were undertaken in conjunction with the City Council,
The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University and
the combined authority with the intention of building a strong
talent pipeline for policy jobs in the city.
The campus will enable better collaboration between departments
with similar goals. For example, policy teams at DfE and DWP can
work together on boosting skills and moving people into better
paid work through initiatives such as the National Careers
Service.
The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to establish
sites around the UK which will see specific sectors or
disciplines within government aligned with regions. Further
announcements will be made in due course.
