Will Stone
Main Page: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)Department Debates - View all Will Stone's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 month, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Minister without Portfolio (Anna Turley)
This Government are committed to delivering a truly national civil service, one that lives and breathes the communities that we represent across the UK. We have exceeded our target, having relocated 23,000 roles from London, and are now committed to over 50% of the senior civil service and our fast streamers being based outside London by 2030, so that our leadership is closer to the communities that we serve. We have also launched three new thematic campuses in Aberdeen, Manchester and the west midlands, building on the success of those in Sheffield, Leeds and Darlington. This work will drive a truly national civil service, and it will only continue.
Anna Turley
I thank my hon. Friend for a really important question. I started my career as a civil servant, and I recommend that career to all young people; it is a truly brilliant career to start off in. We want those opportunities to be everywhere around the country, so we are working with all Departments to strengthen our presence in every English region, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Smaller towns and cities will continue to support our talent pipelines and remain crucial to our overall national presence, which includes 2,000 civil servants based in Cumbria. Across the north-west, we are establishing greater opportunities and more career pathways. North-west bootcamps have supported over 200 local professionals into entry-level civil service roles, and over 4,000 roles have been relocated to the region since the beginning of our Places for Growth programme.
Will Stone
Following the fantastic opening of the indoor drone testing facility in Swindon, what backing is the Minister giving to the relocation of civil service and Government roles in order to support this centre?
Anna Turley
I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in welcoming the opening of the Ministry of Defence indoor testing facility in Swindon; it is great news. He is right that it is vital that the civil service opportunities that it provides are strategically located, partly through the relocation of roles, but it is also crucial to ensure that this fantastic facility harnesses the skills and talents of his constituents.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Yes, I have. I assure my hon. Friend that I will continue to work on it with our colleagues, and it remains a priority for the Government.
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
Can the Minister update us on what recent actions he has taken to co-ordinate the Government’s domestic policy on the war in the middle east?
Darren Jones
We have established a Cabinet Sub-Committee called the Middle East Response Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, which has met weekly. I, as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, have chaired senior ministerial groups underpinning that work to ensure we have a clear understanding of the impact of the conflict in the middle east on the UK domestic economy in relation to supply chains, the security of critical goods and the economic impact. That work is informing Government decisions to protect British citizens and the UK economy as best we can from that conflict.