Places for Growth 2030
The role of Places for Growth in relocating Government roles, building Civil Service communities and leading the Plan for London.
About Places for Growth 2030
The Places for Growth programme is strengthening the Government presence across the UK, shaping a Civil Service that is more representative of the communities we serve and bringing more senior and policy roles outside of London. This is part of the Government’s commitment to take a place-first approach, reduce bureaucracy, operate with maximum efficiency, and focus resources on frontline services improving outcomes for citizens.
PfG is a cross-government programme that sits within Future Civil Service in the Cabinet Office. We work closely with government departments in three key areas, helping them to: strengthen their presence in the regions and nations; build thriving Civil Service communities; and consolidate the London estate enabling cost savings.
Places for Growth reports to Minister Ferguson the Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office. Beth Russell (Second Permanent Secretary for HMT) and John-Paul (JP) Marks (First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HMRC) serve as programme sponsors.
A UK-Wide Civil Service
- The programme has relocated more than 24,600 government roles from London.
- Currently 4 in 5 civil servants are based in the regions and nations.
- Since the outset of the programme the proportion of the UK-based Senior Civil Service outside London has increased from 26 to 36.6%.
- The programme is on track to deliver £1.1bn in salary and estate savings by 2030, along with £880m in local economic benefits.
Places for Growth is helping transform the Civil Service to be closer to the communities it serves by:
- Building on the success of Places for Growth to date and bringing more decision-making out of Whitehall and closer to communities, ensuring 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are located outside London in the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030.
- Strengthening Government presence across the country with 13 cross-government locations: Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham (including Wolverhampton), Cardiff, Darligton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, York.
- Bringing central and local governments together in place to work differently, launching Test and Learn pilots to trial multi-disciplinary teams across Government.
- Strengthening the talent pipeline into Government across the country by launching a new apprenticeship programme, setting an ambition for 50% of Fast Stream roles to be based outside London by 2030, and committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA).
Strengthening the Civil Service presence throughout the country enables us to work better with partners in place, brings rewarding cross-government career opportunities and supports local economic growth, fostering geographical balance and making the Civil Service even more diverse, representative and effective. This transformation supports the Government’s devolution and Public Sector Reform ambitions by building partnerships between local and central government, aligning skills with regional strengths and ensuring policy reflects local needs.
Places for Growth also supports the establishment of regional thematic campuses to bring together civil servants from various departments in the same town or city and support closer working with partners in local government, educational institutions and business all working on related policy areas. This collaborative approach encourages more informed and innovative policy-making. Uniting departments in this way supports the development of strong cross-government career pathways and ensures talented professionals can have rewarding careers while staying in their communities.
Civil Service Communities
Along with Permanent Secretary Place Champions, the Places for Growth team supports regional Heads of Place to help build and embed thriving Civil Service communities across the UK, and develop strong local partnerships.
Working collectively with senior leaders across departments in the regions and nations, PfG Heads of Place facilitate collaboration across central and local government, industry, and private sector partners on cross-cutting issues to better deliver for citizens. By working on a place-first basis, Heads of Place ensure the Civil Service presence across the UK is sustainable, efficient, and has a positive impact on local communities.
Plan for London
Places for Growth leads the policy design for the Plan for London, with the Government Property Agency serving as the delivery body. This focuses on reshaping our estate to match departmental workforce plans that allow for efficiency savings; helping to create workplaces which meet the needs of a modern workforce; and ensuring London remains a vibrant Civil Service location, including career development opportunities across all functions and professions.
Plan for London will support the Civil Service to become more productive and agile by reducing the London workforce, delivering admin savings by closing 11 buildings in this SR including 2 core buildings (including the specific building closures of 102 Petty France and 39 Victoria Street).
Contacts
For more information about Places for Growth role relocations, the Plan for London or our work building Civil Service communities please follow our LinkedIn page: Places for Growth LinkedIn.