Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent civil service roles other than Senior Civil Service were located outside London in each quarter from Q2 2020 to Q3 2023.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Information on the number of roles, including those vacant, is not available centrally. Only the number of employees ‘in post’ is available.

The number and proportion of full-time equivalent civil servants employed and located in London and outside London between Q1 (March) 2020 and Q3 (September) 2023 is available in Table 1 below, and the number excluding ‘SCS level’ employees can be found in Table 2 below. This data refers to the number of employees ‘in post’ at each reference date. Information for Q2 (June) 2020 is not centrally available. Data has, therefore, been provided for Q1 (March) and Q3 (September) 2020.

Table 1: Number of Civil Servants in London and Outside London, Q1 (Mar) 2020 to Q3 (Sep) 2023

Sources and notes:

1. March 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey, Cabinet Office

2. September/December/June 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Quarterly Location Survey, Cabinet Office

3. Figures include where grade is unknown/unreported

4. Outside London includes civil servants located overseas.

5. The increase in unreported location at Q2 and Q3 2021 is mainly attributable to around 7,000 Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff being transferred into MOJ (HMPPS) in late June 2021, with the majority being reported with an unknown location at Q2 and Q3 2021.

Table 2: Number of Civil Servants (excluding SCS level) in London and Outside London, Q1 (Mar) 2020 to Q3 (Sep) 2023

Sources and notes:

1. March 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey, Cabinet Office

2. September/December/June 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Quarterly Location Survey, Cabinet Office

3. Figures include where grade is unknown/unreported.

4. Outside London includes civil servants located overseas.

5. The increase in unreported location at Q2 and Q3 2021 is mainly attributable to around 7,000 Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff being transferred into MOJ (HMPPS) in late June 2021 and with the majority of them not being reported with a known location at Q2 and Q3 2021.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent civil service roles were located outside London in each quarter from Q2 2020 to Q3 2023.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Information on the number of roles, including those vacant, is not available centrally. Only the number of employees ‘in post’ is available.

The number and proportion of full-time equivalent civil servants employed and located in London and outside London between Q1 (March) 2020 and Q3 (September) 2023 is available in Table 1 below, and the number excluding ‘SCS level’ employees can be found in Table 2 below. This data refers to the number of employees ‘in post’ at each reference date. Information for Q2 (June) 2020 is not centrally available. Data has, therefore, been provided for Q1 (March) and Q3 (September) 2020.

Table 1: Number of Civil Servants in London and Outside London, Q1 (Mar) 2020 to Q3 (Sep) 2023

Sources and notes:

1. March 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey, Cabinet Office

2. September/December/June 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Quarterly Location Survey, Cabinet Office

3. Figures include where grade is unknown/unreported

4. Outside London includes civil servants located overseas.

5. The increase in unreported location at Q2 and Q3 2021 is mainly attributable to around 7,000 Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff being transferred into MOJ (HMPPS) in late June 2021, with the majority being reported with an unknown location at Q2 and Q3 2021.

Table 2: Number of Civil Servants (excluding SCS level) in London and Outside London, Q1 (Mar) 2020 to Q3 (Sep) 2023

Sources and notes:

1. March 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey, Cabinet Office

2. September/December/June 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023: Quarterly Location Survey, Cabinet Office

3. Figures include where grade is unknown/unreported.

4. Outside London includes civil servants located overseas.

5. The increase in unreported location at Q2 and Q3 2021 is mainly attributable to around 7,000 Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff being transferred into MOJ (HMPPS) in late June 2021 and with the majority of them not being reported with a known location at Q2 and Q3 2021.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil service jobs previously based in Whitehall have been permanently relocated outside of London and the South East since 2019.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Since March 2020, over 16,000 roles have been relocated from London through the Places for Growth programme and 31% of UK-based SCS roles are now based outside London. Places for Growth aims to relocate 22,000 roles outside of London by 2027.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of (a) civil and (b) public servant roles will move out of London under the Places for Growth programme.

Answered by Michael Ellis

As part of the Budget in 2020, the Government made a commitment to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK by 2030, with commitments from departments and public bodies to relocate up to 15,000 by 2025. The Places for Growth Portfolio is at the heart of delivering this agenda working with departments and public bodies to ensure local voices are taken into account when making policy. As of 31st March 2021 there were 101,930 civil servants in London which represents 21% of the total.

The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Whilst the majority of public bodies are already fairly regionally/nationally dispersed, those with a presence in London are still a key part of our Places for Growth work.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress the Government has made on the Places for Growth programme.

Answered by Michael Ellis

As part of Budget 2020, the Government committed to moving 22,000 Civil Service roles out of central London within the next decade. These roles will be moving to locations across the UK, including Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff, Darlington and Wolverhampton. 11 departments have announced their location plans so far.

Places for Growth is working closely with Government departments as part of the Spending Review and has early commitments to move up to 15,000 Civil Service roles by 2024/25. Additional plans for the relocation of roles will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department is using to assess possible relocations under the Places for Growth programme.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

At Budget 2021, the Chancellor announced that the Government’s new economic campus will be located in Darlington. There will be at least 750 roles based there, across teams from HM Treasury, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Office for National Statistics. The Places for Growth relocation strategy prioritises skills and local talent over cost reductions, providing better value for money for the taxpayer. This is just one part of the Government’s Places for Growth programme which will relocate Civil Servants and public bodies, functions and departmental activities outside of London and the South East.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are being used to evaluate value for money of possible relocations of Government offices under the Places for Growth programme.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has committed to ensuring that the administration of Government is less London-centric through the relocation of 22,000 civil service roles to locations across the United Kingdom.

Departments are taking into account a range of factors including their operating model, workforce and location analysis to assess possible locations for roles. The department will select places that they judge to have the skills, transport links and capacity to meet their needs and flourish in their chosen locations as well as ensuring locations are suitable for the long term success and sustainability of the civil service.