Civil servants should be moved out of London to address regional inequalities, minister says

She said: “A lot of the civil service is still based in London and we need much more of the civil service to be working out in different places and really understanding the challenges they face.

“The level of regional inequalities we have is not acceptable.

“The beauty of devolution is that decisions and power can be in the hands of people who know their communities and can lead change, we just need to get behind them. 

“That will make the change that we want to see.”

In recent years, a number of civil service jobs have been moved out of the capital, with a Treasury campus in Darlington and a policy hub in Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard told the same fringe event, titled A Real Northern Powerhouse?, that he wanted to bring more of the civil service to his region.

He said: “We would like to build on that, and I’m sure we’ll be talking to the government in time about how we bring more civil servants and capacity to places like South Yorkshire and across the country.”

Marcus Johns, senior research fellow at IPPR, commented: “It's positive that the Government is considering all available levers to tackle regional inequality, including moving civil servants out of London. 

“Where civil servants work is crucial to the Government’s missions for growth and opportunity for all.”

He explained: “Firstly, well-paid careers in public service being open to more communities will benefit those areas, injecting extra cash into local high streets and economies.

“Secondly, where people live shapes their experiences and thinking. 

“It’s right that our civil service has experience of life up and down the country, with all regions helping shape their work to run the country.”

While Andrew Carter, chief executive at the Centre for Cities, called for a focus on more devolution over moving officials out of the capital.

He said: “Yes, we need more civil servants out of London so they experience and are influenced by places other than London. 

“But, to make real progress, places need more powers from central government, not just their personnel.”