Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 13
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Published 27 Jul 2023
Paragraph 83
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Planning for the future of the Government’s estates All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The stagnation of civil service pay poses challenges for retention, recruitment, and morale—and may in some cases lead to real hardship. Moving posts out of the capital, where costs of living are lower and where the Government does not pay a London premium on civil service salaries, has the potential to offer financial benefits to both the Government and its officials. Nevertheless, a large contingent of staff—especially senior posts—are always going to be required to work in London, and the Places for Growth programme will on its own do nothing for the individuals holding such roles. Civil service relocation has a role to play within the overall policy relating to civil service pay, but it should not be seen by the Cabinet Office as a replacement for addressing underlying issues.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the future of the Government’s estates (HC 793), paragraph 83, 27 July 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 October 2023.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it supports enhanced transparency and has "accepted recommendations where appropriate", while pointing to existing mechanisms on others and leaving some decisions with individual departments.
- On programme documentation, the Government says it "will publish relevant programme documentation" for Places for Growth and the Plan for London, and "will refresh the appropriate pages" to include purpose, objectives and critical success factors.
- On Cabinet meetings outside London, it states that planning must balance regional benefits with ministerial parliamentary availability and taxpayers' money, and that "for security reasons" it does not announce when and where meetings will take place.
- On civil service headcount, it says the policy of reducing numbers by 91,000 FTE "would not be pursued" and that any reductions are "for individual departments to determine".
- On the Government Property Agency's value for money, it states the Agency delivers "excellent value for money" and is undertaking a benefits review against its original business case, with no external review commitment stated.