Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Relocating Civil Service Roles

Thursday 5 June 2025 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is relocating civil service jobs away from London.
  • Minister welcomes dialogue with MPs and local authorities for benefits.
  • Billingham in Stockton North highlighted for its biomanufacturing cluster.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ian Lavery Lab Blyth and Ashington
Employment Local Government
Context

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster had announced plans to relocate thousands of civil service roles across different cities in the UK, aiming to bring the civil service closer to local communities.

Question

I welcome that reply, and it is really progressive that the Government are now relocating jobs away from London, but can I urge the Minister to look closely at how people in places like my constituency of Blyth and Ashington—people everywhere, in rural and semi-rural constituencies as well as in more urban ones—can benefit from this fantastic policy? We all need to be able to benefit from this policy, not just certain peoples in city constituencies.

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

I very much hear what my hon. Friend says. I cannot stand here and say that there will be a civil service location in every single constituency in the country, but we are happy to have dialogue with MPs and local authorities from all parts of the country to get the biggest benefits possible from these decisions to locate civil service jobs around the country. The truth is, in this day and age, not everyone has to work in central London. We can get better value for money and, as I said, a public service that is closer to the public it serves.

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Q2 Chris McDonald Lab Stockton North
Economy Business & Trade
Context

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster had confirmed plans for relocating thousands of civil service roles across different towns and cities, including Darlington, aiming to bring more employment opportunities.

Question

I particularly welcome the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster saying that he would like to hear more accents from different parts of the country in the civil service. Billingham in Stockton North is home to the UK’s biggest biomanufacturing cluster, and we are also somewhat exposed to international trade with our steel, chemical and automotive sectors. I very much welcome the expansion of the Darlington economic campus in the area of business and trade. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this will provide good jobs for my constituents in Stockton and Billingham, and will he ensure that policy implementation is closer to the source of economic activity?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

We have the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), with us today. He pushed for the Darlington economic campus, which is a good innovation, and I know the current Chancellor of the Exchequer values it greatly. We want not just to relocate jobs, though that is important, but to have thematic campuses that can build up real areas of expertise, whether in digital skills, financial skills, energy skills and so on, to make a real difference to the communities in which these offices are located.

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