More than 18,000 Civil Service jobs moved out of London

More than 18,000 Civil Service jobs have been moved out of London since 2021 as the Government looks to make its bureaucracy more representative of the country.

The Government aims to relocate 22,000 roles from London by 2027, with jobs going to cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow, along with a new “economic campus” in Darlington.

In the last three months of 2023, more than 2,000 jobs were relocated, putting the Government ahead of its schedule even after bringing the target date for completion forward from 2030.

John Glen, the Paymaster General, said: “Our plans to move more Government roles outside of London continue to progress at pace; month by month, we are seeing the transformation of our Civil Service into an organisation that better reflects the perspectives of people from across the United Kingdom.”

On Thursday, the Government announced that it had now submitted a planning application for a new £118 million “state-of-the-art” hub in Darlington, which will become the home of 1,450 civil servants out of a total of 2,300 in the County Durham town.

Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: “Brunswick Street, situated right in the heart of Darlington, will soon be home to a critical Government hub, and as the Government footprint in north England continues to grow, we will create further opportunities for people from across the country to work in the Civil Service.”

Moving Civil Service roles out of London forms part of the Government’s “levelling up” plans, with each 1,000 jobs moved out of the capital expected to boost local economies by £30 million.