Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Paragraph: 95
Coordinate local outreach work by regional offices to improve understanding of local needs
Recommendation
To increase the impact and rationale of each regional Hub, the Cabinet Office should co-ordinate the local outreach work undertaken by each department’s regional offices (liaising with local authorities, businesses, and third sector stakeholders). The objective should be to systematically improve central government’s understanding of local needs, and the local impacts of government policy, in each region and nation of the UK.
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office states it is already driving a joined-up approach to local outreach, overseen by Director-level Heads of Place, with regular cross-departmental outreach activities to understand local communities and foster relationships with local stakeholders.
Paragraph Reference:
95
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Places for Growth is relocating roles to join the already thriving Civil Service communities across the United Kingdom. It’s essential that local stakeholder engagement is prioritised in order to achieve the benefits of being an organisation with a truly national footprint. The Cabinet Office is already driving a joined-up approach to local outreach, which is overseen by Director-level Heads of Place. Each region and nation has a Head of Place who oversees the development of Civil Service communities in their area and promotes opportunities for departments to work collaboratively to achieve more than the sum of their parts. As part of this work, regular cross-departmental outreach activities take place in order to understand local communities better, foster deep working relationships with local stakeholders, and promote Civil Service careers locally. For example, within the first six months of launching the new Cabinet Office second headquarters in Glasgow, a joined up nation-wide programme of outreach, engagement and recruitment was initiated across Scotland. Staff volunteered over 100 hours to participate in careers fairs, guest lectures and discussion panels in order to showcase to students and graduates how they can launch a fulfilling and rewarding career in the Civil Service in Scotland. Strong local relationships and coordinated outreach helps the Civil Service to be a positive presence in the local area as well as facilitating more effective engagement on the development and impact of policy.