Places for Growth 2030

Pat McFadden Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

Today the Government have announced further steps that they are taking to transform the civil service through:

Building on the places for growth programme by bringing more decision making out of Whitehall and closer to communities, ensuring that 50% of UK-based senior civil servants are located outside London in the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030.

Strengthening the Government presence across the country, with 13 cross-Government regional hubs. These hubs will have end-to-end careers across the civil service, allowing promotion without having to relocate, and foster collaboration across organisations and all spheres of Government, with talent feeding in from regional “spokes.”

Bringing central and local government together in place to work differently, launching “test and learn” pilots to trial multidisciplinary teams across Government, strengthening local partnerships, bringing policy closer to delivery, driving public sector reform and prioritising preventive interventions.

Becoming more productive and agile by reducing the London workforce, delivering admin savings by closing 11 buildings in this SR, including two core buildings, including the specific building closures of 102 Petty France and 39 Victoria Street.

Strengthening the talent pipeline: Building a long-term pipeline of talent across the country, including by:

Launching a new apprenticeship programme—OS career launch apprenticeship, which will support entry into the civil service in Birmingham and Manchester (as well as London).

Setting an ambition to have 50% of fast stream roles based outside London by 2030. This would strengthen regional talent and support the ambition to bring the civil service closer to the communities it serves.

Committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme, in partnership with the Local Government Association. Working with the LGA to develop secondment programmes focused on working with local government.

As part of the Prime Minister’s plan for change, it is essential that the civil service evolves to become more agile, closer to the communities it serves, and more efficient to deliver savings for our taxpayers. At the heart of this agenda is the places for growth programme, which will support the delivery of civil service transformation.

By 2030, our vision is for the UK Government to be embedded in every region, supporting local economic growth and collaborating on Government-led missions. High-quality Government roles will move from London to bolster a stronger and more senior presence, delivering for all citizens across the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Aligned with the wider reform agenda, the civil service will reshape as it resizes to be more effective and efficient, enabling diverse, cross-Government career paths across the country while being closer to the communities it serves.

Building on the success of the Darlington economic campus, the Sheffield policy campus and the Leeds health and social care hub, we want to explore opportunities for more campuses to create strategic partnerships between central and local government as well as industry partners, taking multidisciplinary approaches to complex issues and making the most of each region’s strengths across the country. Two of the new campuses will be a new Government digital and an AI innovation campus and energy campus, to be launched in Manchester and Aberdeen.

[HCW633]