Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Acknowledged
Clarify ministerial commitments for working outside London, or issue revised, realistic regional ambitions.
Recommendation
The Government has made high-profile commitments that Ministers would spend significant working time in regional offices—though without clearly explaining what value this was meant to deliver. To date, Ministers have not been able to meet this commitment, making flying visits rather than basing themselves outside London for significant amounts of time to conduct substantive work. The responsible Minister himself suggested a good reason for this: ministerial work is closely linked to Parliament and the Cabinet, and long travel times make it impractical for Ministers to spend very significant working time away from Westminster. The Government should either live up to its public commitment for Ministers to spend more time working outside the capital, or issue a revised ambition with an accurate statement of what Ministers can actually commit to. This should extend to the Government’s purpose in building Cabinet meeting rooms in two of its new Hubs, and the Cabinet Office should include in its response to this report details of when the Cabinet plans to meet in Edinburgh and Cardiff. (Paragraph 33) 48 Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the difficulty of balancing ministerial duties in London with the commitment to spend time in regional offices. They state that ministers have visited staff in central Government hubs and that facilities are available for ministers in key locations, but that the planning of Cabinet meetings outside of London must balance benefits with ministerial availability and the use of taxpayers' money. For security reasons, they do not announce when and where these meetings will take place.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
This is a difficult area as the Minister for the Cabinet Office made clear in his evidence session. Ministers - and indeed permanent secretaries - recognise their role as powerful champions and ambassadors for all Civil Service locations and that attendance in offices outside London is important to creating a vibrant and consistent Civil Service culture across the UK. Cabinet Office Ministers have embraced this opportunity with all Ministers visiting their staff in central Government hubs over the last year. Ministers have conducted official business in Darlington (the Economic campus), Glasgow (Cabinet Office second headquarters), Belfast, Manchester, Sheffield (Government Policy Campus), Cardiff, York and Birmingham Ministers also have a duty to be available to Parliament in order to respond adequately to matters relating to departmental business. Ministers continue to seek a balance between these important but sometimes conflicting requirements. Facilities for Ministers to use are now available in key locations across the United Kingdom, with meeting rooms suitable for a number of purposes, including Cabinet meetings if required. For example, Cabinet met in Stoke-on-Trent in May 2022. However, the planning of Cabinet meetings outside of London must balance the benefits of regional Cabinets with Ministerial parliamentary availability and the use of taxpayers money. For security reasons, the Government does not announce when and where these meetings will take place.