Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Non-Departmental Public Bodies they are considering asking to move from London and the south east of England to elsewhere in the UK; how many staff they (1) expect to relocate, and (2) intend to recruit from local workforces; and when they expect any such moves of those organisations to be concluded.
The Government is clear the administration of government needs to be less London-centric. The Cabinet Office has established the Places for Growth programme to drive the necessary planning and preparation within departments and public bodies to locate roles and bodies out of London in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.
The programme has introduced a presumption against the creation of new public bodies with a base in London. As such, 15 new public bodies have been established out of London since 2017.
Plans are focusing on the relocation of roles, through natural churn and new recruitment, rather than relocation of staff in post. It is intended that the majority of relocated roles will be recruited from local labour markets, offering career progression for civil servants throughout the UK.