Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to (a) consolidate and (b) relocate departmental property estates outside of London.

On 14 May, the Government announced it will:

• strengthen its presence in 13 cross Government locations across the UK;

• ensure that 50% of UK-based SCS are located outside of London by 2030;

• strengthen the talent pipeline by launching a new apprenticeship programme, setting an ambition for 50% of Fast Stream roles to be based outside London by 2030, and committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA);

• reduce the number of Civil Service buildings in London, closing 11 buildings by 2030 to deliver £94m in savings per year; and

• launch two new thematic campuses: an Energy Campus in Aberdeen; and a Digital & AI Innovation Campus in Manchester.