Thousands of civil service roles to leave London

The government plans to cut the number of civil service roles in London by 12,000, closing 11 offices in the capital.

This will save £94 million a year in property costs by 2032. Two new campuses will open in Manchester and Aberdeen, and the government will recruit for more roles in other cities, it said.

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said: “By relocating thousands of civil service roles we will not only save taxpayers money, we will make this government one that better reflects the country it serves.”

With more civil servants outside of London, government decision-making would be “closer to communities all across the UK”.

McFadden has a target of 50% of all civil servants being located outside London within five years.

The Westminster-based offices of the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care will move, as will the Department for Work and Pensions at Caxton House.

The Manchester campus will include an artificial intelligence and digital hub, and the Aberdeen site will be an energy campus. Other areas to recruit more civil servants include Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow and the north-east.

In March, chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to cut around 10,000 civil service jobs in a bid to cut government running costs. Government departments were asked to detail how they would cut 10-15% running costs by the end of the decade.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart claimed the plans showed the government was “fundamentally unserious about reducing the size of the state and working more efficiently on behalf of taxpayers”.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said the plans would “empower” civil servants if they succeed.

“We have been here before with similar announcements, if this one is to be different, government needs to work closely with unions both on specific relocation plans and on the wider civil service reform agenda,” he added.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote urged the government to “do the right thing by workers” based in London.

“That must include guarantees of no compulsory redundancies, no compulsory relocations and access to more flexible working arrangements to enable them to continue their careers should they wish to do so,” she said.

FDA general secretary Dave Penman said that for the relocations to be a success, civil servants need to be able to build careers for the longer-term across the UK, including in London where there will now be fewer opportunities.

“There will also be uncertainty for the thousands of civil servants affected by the office closures announced today,” he said. “We need to hear quickly from the departments affected how this will be managed, not least how they will be affected by the office closures, relocation of roles out of London and reduction in headcount, all happening at the same time.”

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