Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Civil Service Reform

Wednesday 22 January 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister plans to relocate new agencies outside London and the south-east to make government more relevant to northern England.
  • Government intends to spend 50 million on political appointees, raising concerns about protecting civil service professional standards.
  • Minister considers relocating more civil service jobs from London to locations like the north-east of Scotland, with Edinburgh seeing large new hubs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rosie Cooper Lab West Lancashire
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The Institute for Government estimates a growing number of civil servants in London, contradicting the Prime Minister's statements about relocating Whitehall departments to the north.

Question

What plans does the Minister have to reconcile the growth of civil service jobs in London with the Prime Minister's commitment to relocate Whitehall Departments and make government more relevant to northern England?

Answer from Oliver Dowden (Minister for the Cabinet Office)

The hon. Lady raises a very important point about moving Government activity out of London, which is why we have created a default where new agencies must be located outside London and the south-east. The Prime Minister is determined to go further with this agenda.

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Q2 Jon Trickett Lab Hemsworth
Standards & Ethics
Context

Concerns are raised about the spending on political appointees, their earnings, professional standards in the civil service, and departures from specific departments.

Question

Given that the Government plans to spend £50 million on political appointees and noting recent departures at the Department for Exiting the European Union, how can the Minister assure the House of the protection of civil service professional standards?

Answer from Oliver Dowden (Minister for the Cabinet Office)

The independence and integrity of the civil service will be upheld; we must harness all talents, including those with data analytics skills to modernise the service.

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Q3 Andrew Bowie Con West Kilbride and North Ayrshire
Parliamentary Procedure Local Government
Context

A question about moving more civil service jobs out of London to the north-east of Scotland is raised.

Question

In line with civil service reform, what thought has the Minister given to relocating more civil service jobs from London to locations such as the north-east of Scotland?

Answer from Oliver Dowden (Minister for the Cabinet Office)

The hon. Friend raises an important point; we have seen large new hubs being created in Edinburgh to bring together Government services and look forward to discussing opportunities this Friday.

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