Brexit and Covid have cancelled out drive to move civil servants out of London, MPs told

Researchers from the Institute for Government think tank told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday that the mass recruitment of roles in London has outstripped the effort to move jobs out of the capital.

Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the IfG told MPs that the process of leaving the EU, and the “repatriation” of activity that the UK must now do on its own led to an increase in the number of civil servants hired in London.

“The crisis of the pandemic led to a rapid increase in recruitment,” he said, adding: “most of those jobs that were added to the civil service were added in London.”

Mr Thomas said that most policy roles, such as those involved in Brexit and the pandemic, are in the capital, and that people recruiting for those jobs were themselves based in London and “recruit in their own image”.

He said that the Government’s attempt to move 22,000 jobs out of London had been “more than offset” by the growing numbers recruited in the capital.

It comes as the think tank released its Whitehall Monitor report which analyses the state of the civil service.

The IfG found that civil service turnover has hit its highest level in at least a decade.

Between March 2021 and March 2022, 13.6 per cent of civil servants either moved between departments or left the civil service entirely.

Rhys Clyne, the lead author of the report, said: “The start of 2023 is a difficult moment for civil service leaders trying to manage the workforce. Pay restraint will be tough in the face of widespread industrial action and sustained real-terms pay cuts at every grade of the civil service.

“It is already having an effect on the civil service’ ability to recruit and retain top talent.

“Morale is getting worse, turnover is at record highs and the relationship between ministers and officials has come under strain.”