Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 26
Relocation targets for civil service posts lack clear rationale and consistent reporting of progress.
Conclusion
The Government appears to be making progress towards its target of relocating 22,000 posts by 2030, and steady progress towards a target of reducing the proportion of Senior Civil Service posts based in London to 50% of the total. However, a number of issues with the framing and reporting of these targets makes it difficult to judge how substantial the Government’s achievements are. It is striking that the Cabinet Office has published so little information on the rationale and design of its Places for Growth programme, and also its new Plan for London. In particular, the Cabinet Office has not published a clear and definitive statement on the exact region from which it is seeking to relocate posts, nor of exactly what its target for senior officials is. In some of its communications it is also adopting a boosterish approach to reporting progress, which is likely to give an exaggerated picture of its achievements. Overall, the Cabinet Office has not done the basics of launching a programme well, notably failing to be clear and consistent in framing the rationale underlying the programme and the targets it is aiming to achieve.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's inquiry and highlights progress made through the Places for Growth and Government Hubs programmes. They state they support enhanced transparency and have accepted recommendations where appropriate.
Paragraph Reference:
26
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government is grateful to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee for their inquiry into ‘Where Civil Servants work: Planning for the Future of the Government’s Estates’, specifically the Places for Growth Programme and the Government Property Agency. The report highlights the progress made to date through the Places for Growth and Government Hubs programmes. At the time of publishing, significant milestones have been achieved including: • more than 14,000 roles have been relocated against a commitment of 22,000 by 2030 • 30% of Senior civil servants are based outside London against the commitment for 50% outside London by 2030 • delivering 96% of the 2025 ambition to relocate at least 15,000 roles by 2025 and 65% of the overall ambition of 22,000 by 2030 • the establishment of multiple departmental second headquarters including Cabinet Office in Glasgow, DLUHC in Wolverhampton and FCDO in East Kilbride • the launch of Civil Service thematic campuses e.g. Darlington Economic Campus and Sheffield Policy Campus • the delivery of 5 hubs within phase 2 of the hubs programme, bringing total number of hubs to 19 • the closure of 43 offices in Central London since April 2017, significantly reducing operating costs by £220m Places for Growth’s approach to role relocations is established on a strong evidence base, which informed implementation. The programme has a robust monitoring mechanism for quarterly reporting as well as comprehensive governance structures overseeing policy development and departmental role relocations at an official and ministerial level. The Committee made a number of recommendations for consideration where Cabinet Office could increase transparency and evaluation of the programmes’ delivery impacts. The Government supports enhanced transparency so has accepted recommendations where appropriate and signposted where committee feedback has already been addressed through other mechanisms.