Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office exercises oversight or control over the location of arm’s-length bodies; and if so, what form that oversight or control takes.

As part of the Places for Growth programme, the Cabinet Office engages with departments that have arm's-length bodies (ALBs) based in London, to encourage them to be located outside of London, increasing the geographic diversity of the Civil Service. In addition, newly created bodies are not headquartered in London, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean this is necessary.