Levelling-up benefits of civil service shift from London questioned

Prestigious government policy roles are to be moved to Sheffield, despite a new study that suggests relocating civil service jobs out of London has benefits but only a limited impact on economically “levelling up” the country.

The Cabinet Office on Thursday unveiled the creation of a “first of its kind” scheme in South Yorkshire as part of its wider “places for growth” programme, which aims to move 22,000 civil service jobs outside the capital by 2030.

So far 12,000 government roles have been shifted out of London under the programme, which was designed in part to support the Tory administration’s levelling up policy to address regional economic disparities.

Alex Burghart, Cabinet Office minister, said the government was “delivering on its promise to level up across the country by ensuring that we create opportunities for people across the country”.

However, a report by the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank into civil service relocation, to be published on Friday, warned that any local economic benefit from moving Whitehall jobs was likely to be “modest” and do little to improve overall regional economic inequality.

The IfG focused on the case study of Darlington, where the Treasury announced a new outpost in 2021 and cited other positive outcomes of relocating roles.

It said the campus, where 700 staff at the department for education and 600 officials from multiple other departments work, allowed talented people who cannot or will not work in London to contribute more effectively to the civil service, while also diversifying it.

It added that the campus helped expose policymakers to a wider spectrum of experiences from across the country while breaking down Whitehall silos.

However, the relocated roles are too few in number to meaningfully reduce regional economic inequality, so the scheme cannot be claimed as a primary tool of “levelling up”, the IfG said.

Around 80 per cent of staff at the Darlington campus come from the north, while 20 per cent have relocated from London.

The government also announced a regional “fast stream” pilot programme at the Sheffield hub, so graduates do not have to leave the Yorkshire region to clinch desirable jobs in government policy.

The plans are an attempt to answer criticism that too many regional positions in the civil service have traditionally been lower-status and lower-paid backroom jobs such as working in call centres.

The Cabinet Office claimed there was a local economic benefit of £30mn per 1,000 relocated roles, citing recent studies.

So far 2,400 government roles have moved out of London into the Yorkshire and Humber region, including 637 to Sheffield where the new policy hub will be based. The city is home to 75 senior civil servants, one of the highest proportions outside London.

Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff are among other cities that have benefited from the relocation of civil service roles.

The policy campus is “a commitment to the people of Sheffield that local people will have a central role to play in the development of major national policies,” Burghart added.

The Cabinet Office said the Darlington hub was expected to provide an economic boost locally and had been “recognised as a blueprint for civil service relocation due to its positive impact on the town and region”.