YP Letters: Plea to keep civil service jobs in Sheffield

THIS is an open letter my organisation has sent to Greg Clark, the new Business Secretary.

“Whilst belatedly, could I congratulate you on your appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

“I would like to take this opportunity to restate the importance to retain the BIS jobs in Sheffield; the BIS team provide a very high skilled and well developed workforce. These cornerstone jobs are important to not only the Sheffield region economy, but would provide a strong demonstration of Theresa May’s commitment ‘to make Britain work for everyone’. It was very clear in the EU referendum results that the views and thoughts of the northern communities were not being considered by a narrow base of civil servants, failing to reflect the diverse views of all the country. The role of a UK government is to consider all, not the few.

“As a region we have undertaken a significant amount of constructive decisions and work for inward investment, with the recent announcement of our ties to China, and HSBC to shortly state a significant expansion into Sheffield, with the aim to make Sheffield one of the financial regions of the North.

“While it is pleasing to hear that jobs are being created in higher and further education and skills for those from the Business Department, to the Education Department in Theresa May’s reshuffle, we would call the conclusion to move the BIS dept. from Sheffield to London be stopped immediately, and the decision reversed. We then call for further jobs to be re-located, and developed in the Sheffield City Region.

“We fail to understand the logic of such a policy in centralising the teams in this way; in the debate in the House of Commons, Paul Blomfield MP eloquently spoke, clearly identifying that this had not been, nor was there a case for this to go ahead on a cost saving basis. In fact, the closure of Sheffield and movement to London would cost a further £2.5m per annum. This policy is not logical and is symbolically contradictory, in the face of support for the Northern Powerhouse and devolution.

“We conclude that it is essential that government not only recognise, but implement and continue to support the importance for capacity, spread across the country. A more centralised approach in London distracts from these principles, and reflects why so many from the North and other regions outside the capital feel little or no engagement in decision made by central Government. Jobs created, and paid for by taxpayers’ monies, should be the benefit of all of the United Kingdom, not just few in London and the South East. It is essential that we give career opportunities to those coming out of our outstanding universities in the city, and to retain their knowledge and spending power to create further jobs in the region’s future.

“I would like to echo Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield’s call to create a new Department – notably with ‘industrial strategy’ in its title and for this dept. to be located in Sheffield at 2 St Paul’s Place. We believe that there is no finer example in the United Kingdom of a city having to re-generate itself after the loss of the coal and the steel industry, in making itself at the forefront of world-beating advanced manufacturing.”

Second class post service

From: Bob Watson, Springfield Road, Baildon.

WHILE the report of a possible postal workers’ strike is unwelcome news (The Yorkshire Post, August 20), it has to be said that the Post Office has, to some extent, brought this on themselves. This is encapsulated in Bradford where the Post Office is closing its Crown Office in Darley Street.

That office is now to be located inside an already inadequate WH Smith branch in The Broadway shopping centre, and is exactly the sort of thing that should be decried. It is one thing wanting to modernise, but quite another to make this sort of unacceptable move for a city the size of Bradford.

The Post Office continues to hold consultation exercises about these sorts of moves, but these are obviously mere tick-box procedures with no intention whatever of changing their proposed path.

Crime role is waste of cash

From: Jeff Thomas, Strait Lane, Huby, Leeds.

I REFER to your recent article regarding an appointment of a deputy crime commissioner to North Yorkshire’s Julia Mulligan (Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post, August 20).

I would suggest this to be a totally unnecessary position. I suspect it has little support and will be a drain on the public purse. Perhaps Theresa May will urgently question the need for these superfluous posts. Let the Chief Constables manage the job they are paid to do.

Positive signs after Brexit

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

SHOPPERS are spending more, wages are up, unemployment is down and prices are steady. Isn’t it time the Brexit vote was accepted by all and we got on with our lives?