Corporate report

Places for Growth Relocations Data 2020-2023

Published 12 December 2023

Purpose of this publication

This publication provides an overview of role relocations delivered as part of the Places for Growth Programme. An accompanying set of data tables are available on Gov.uk alongside this report.

The publication sets out:

• The Places for Growth programme overview
• Relocation data collection and methodology
• Progress against programme targets

The information presented relates to the period spanning 2020-23. The report and the data tables should be considered in conjunction with each other. The readers should not interpret the data tables in isolation without reviewing the context and data limitations in this report and likewise, this report does not contain all data that is in the accompanying data tables. Following this initial publication, Places for Growth will release role relocation data on a quarterly basis.

Places for Growth

Introduction

The Declaration on Government Reform^{[footnote 1]} sets out how the Government will look beyond London to all corners of the UK, to a Civil Service that is representative of the communities we serve with more Government roles, including senior leaders, based outside the capital, joining the many dedicated front line staff already based in towns and cities across the UK.

Budget 2020 established the commitment to relocate 22,000 roles by 2030 and the 2021 Declaration on Government Reform cemented this pledge as well as the commitment to ensure 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are outside London by 2030. Through the Levelling Up White Paper in 2022, the Government committed to frontloading delivery of this programme, relocating 15,000 roles by 2025.

Declaration on Government Reform

The Declaration on Government Reform outlines how the Civil Service and Ministers will reform government together to deliver effectively for citizens.

Places for Growth (PfG), based within Cabinet Office, is at the heart of delivering this agenda, setting the strategic direction for role relocations across Government and supporting departments and public bodies to ensure milestones are reached. By Q2 2023, PfG had exceeded the programme’s interim 2025 milestone set out in the Levelling Up White Paper of relocating 15,000 roles by 2025, and had relocated 16,061 roles.

In December 2023, the Government recognised the significant progress that had been made and announced that 22,000 Government roles will now be relocated to places across the UK by 2027^{[footnote 2]}.

This report sets out how role relocation data are collected and the methodologies applied in reporting this data. High level summaries of the data are provided within this report.

PfG will publish an accompanying policy document in the coming months reflecting the new commitments and setting out the aims, objectives, progress and next steps of the programme. It will also publish quarterly role relocation data henceforth.

Places for Growth Relocation Objectives

Through its relocations programme, PfG supports a number of other high profile Government priorities including Levelling Up, the Union agenda and Modernisation & Reform by:

• Relocating 22,000 Government roles from London by the revised deadline of 2027.
• Collaborating with departments to ensure Government roles within public bodies are located outside London.
• Supporting the majority of departments and public bodies to locate 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Service roles outside London by 2030, addressing the current imbalance where the majority of senior roles are London based.
• Increasing UK Government presence, visibility and connection in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, by ensuring relevant policy and senior decision making roles are located there to contribute to UK-wide policy making.

By 2027, the Civil Service will have:

• Established a network of locations across the regions and nations of the UK, supporting a geographically diverse Civil Service that delivers excellent public services, contributes to local economic growth and is better connected to, and representative of, the communities we serve
• Introduced new approaches to recruitment to support sustainable career pathways in locations across the UK and enable diversity of thought and experience to grow and flourish within the Civil Service

Data Sources and Methodology

Relocations Data Collection

The PfG programme was baselined in March 2020, following which. departments and public bodies report total full-time equivalent (FTE) role relocations from London on a quarterly basis. The collection of data on role relocations has been coordinated by the Office of Government Property within the Cabinet Office. Some organisations fall out of scope if, for example, they do not maintain a London presence.

Public Bodies

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to deliver a public or government service, though not as a ministerial department. The term refers to a wide range of public sector entities.

Arm’s-Length Bodies

Arm’s-length bodies (ALBs) are a specific category of central government public bodies that are administratively classified by the Cabinet Office. There are three types of ALB:

• An executive agency (EA) is a clearly designated unit of a central government department. It is administratively distinct, but legally remains a part of it. It focuses on delivering specific outputs within a framework of accountability to ministers. Examples of EAs include DVLA, HM Prison and Probation Service and the Met Office.
• A non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a body which has a role in the processes of national government. It is not a government department but operates at arm’s length from ministers. NDPBs have different roles. Some advise ministers while others carry out executive or regulatory functions.  They work within a strategic framework set by ministers. Examples of NDPBs include the British Council, Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive.
• A non-ministerial department (NMD) is a government department in its own right, but does not have its own minister. However, it is accountable to Parliament through its sponsoring ministers. A non-ministerial department is staffed by civil servants and usually has its own estimate and accounts. Examples of NMDs include the Food Standards Agency, HM Revenue & Customs and Ofgem.

Departments and public bodies provide their cumulative FTE relocations for in scope roles on a quarterly basis supported by further detail on the regional location and grade of their relocations.

In Scope Roles

Roles in scope of the PfG relocation programme are:

• Civil Servants employed directly by departments, non-ministerial departments and Executive Agencies
• Public Servants employed by Arms Length Bodies including Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs)

Roles not in scope are:

• Scottish and Welsh Government and overseas centrally managed roles
• Certain publicly funded roles (i.e. Public Corporations) where the Civil Service is not the employer e.g. Channel 4 employees
• Roles in third party services or contractors where the department is not the employer
• Military/ Police roles

Departments and public bodies are tasked with the responsibility of accurately reporting and managing relocations in line with programme definitions. It is a matter for departments and public bodies to decide what their operating model is and where they wish to relocate roles outside London. Places for Growth works with departments and public bodies to identify opportunities to cluster Government roles in larger locations where possible.There are 23 larger PfG locations where the 82% of Government roles have been relocated to date.

PfG Programme Relocated Roles Definition

Roles moving from:

• London, including the Greater London area
• Some specific roles from the South East as part of pre-agreed departmental location strategies
• In some circumstances, some internationally based roles returning to the UK may be considered in agreement with PfG.

Roles moving to:

• Any PfG key cities (a full list of key locations is set out in Annex B)
• Any PfG-agreed smaller towns or and cities
• Existing Civil Service locations outside Greater London, where such locations have been discussed with PfG and agreed as part of the specific departmental strategy e.g. DCMS sport bodies building on the existing presence in Loughborough.

Out of Scope:

• Movement from Central London to Greater London locations (i.e. Croydon/Stratford)
• Designation of roles previously based in London offices as home working and filled by staff based in London
• Roles attached to an office outside the South East of England but filled by a home worker in London.

Quality Assurance

The PfG programme sets the scope and standard of reporting and departments and public bodies are responsible for adherence to these standards. The PfG programme implements a variety of methods to assure the data.

The PfG assurance framework is a three step process:

• All data must undergo a sign-off process by departments and public bodies.
• PfG conducts validation checks on data received to identify inconsistencies or material changes which are questioned and resolved through engagements with departments and public bodies.
• PfG ensures, through tools such as FAQs, that methods, processes and practices are consistent as far as practicable.

Revisions Policy

Departments and public bodies are able to request revisions to historic data where errors are identified. Requests are managed through a change control process maintained by PfG, which determines the level of approval and governance sign off that is required, adjusted in accordance with the scale of the proposed change.

Role Relocations 2020 - 2023

Role Relocations

Between March 2020 and September 2023, 16,061 Government roles have been relocated under the PfG programme. The programme has exceeded its milestone to relocate 15,000 roles by 2025 and delivered 73% of the new target to relocate 22,000 Government roles by 2027.

Table 1: Cumulative Government Role Relocations: 2020/21-2023/24

Year	Quarter	Number of Relocations
2021	Q3	2,067
2021	Q4	3,999
2022	Q1	5,947
2022	Q2	7,042
2022	Q3	8,389
2022	Q4	11,112
2023	Q1	12,075
2023	Q2	14,365
2023	Q3	16,061
Total Relocations	-	16,061

Source: Places for Growth Quarterly Relocations Tracker

Role Relocations by Nation

The UK Government is committed to delivering for people and communities across the UK. PfG will increase the UK Government presence, visibility and connection in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is being achieved through the relocation of Government roles from London. These role relocations build on the already significant UK Civil Service footprint across the UK including those civil servants working for Scottish Government and Welsh Government^{[footnote 3]}.

Civil Service Statistics^{[footnote 4]}

An annual National Statistics release which provides users with headline statistics on the UK Civil Service workforce, including breakdowns by demographic characteristics, earnings, grade, and location of civil servants.

A significant number of Government roles have been relocated to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, representing 18% of all role relocations. This includes 93 (or 24% of) relocated Senior Civil Service roles. 11% of roles have gone to Scotland, 6% to Wales and 2% to Northern Ireland.

Figure 2: Role Relocations by Nation

Role Relocations by Region

A more regionally dispersed workforce has benefits for the UK Government. By having policy makers, strategists and a large percentage of the SCS based outside Whitehall, the Civil Service will take advantage of the untapped and diverse talent available across the whole of the UK. A geographically diverse workforce means more diversity of thought into policy making leading to better informed policy, built on an understanding of the impacts across the UK.

Across the regions 3,350 (21%) of relocations have been to the North West of England followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 3,107 (19%).

Civil servants work in all regions of the UK, statistics on the current UK Civil Service workforce, including breakdowns by location are available on gov.uk^{[footnote 5]}.

Table 2: Cumulative Government Role Relocations, by Region: 2022 Q4 - 2023 Q3^{[footnote 6][footnote 7]}

Country	Region	2022 Q4	2023 Q1	2023 Q2	2023 Q3
England	-	8,839	9,549	11,625	12,586
North West (England)	-	2,292	2,516	3,084	3,350
Yorkshire and The Humber	-	2,244	2,430	2,795	3,107
West Midlands (England)	-	1,396	1,501	1,902	2,000
North East (England)	-	1,016	1,144	1,332	1,460
South West (England)	-	766	796	869	935
East of England	-	619	643	749	794
South East (England)	-	229	230	496	552
East Midlands (England)	-	276	290	397	389
Scotland	-	1,254	1,379	1,567	1,767
Wales	-	594	690	825	931
Northern Ireland	-	132	149	203	271
Unknown	-	293	307	145	505
Total Relocations	-	11,112	12,075	14,365	16,061

Source: Places for Growth Quarterly Relocations Tracker

Role Relocations by Location

In order to fully realise the potential benefits of relocations, PfG is encouraging departments and public bodies with shared themes or policy aims to come together in a location. Clustering Government roles and skills in thematic campuses e.g. the Darlington Economic Campus and the Sheffield Policy Campus, can help departments and public bodies take advantage of local expertise, build strong talent pipelines, foster collaboration and contribute to place. Thematic campuses can also bring policy makers closer to their peers in other departments as well as locating them close to relevant industry, ALBs and wider public and private sector stakeholders to improve policy making and delivery across Government.

Thematic Campuses

Multiple departments and/or public bodies in a location, in multiple buildings or a government hub, that acknowledge a shared theme, actively seek to collaborate on policy and operational matters that are mutually beneficial and collectively build on the strengths of that location.

Relocations to the top 10 locations represent 60% of all roles relocated.

Table 3: Top 10 Cumulative Government Role Relocation Locations 2022 Q4 - 2023 Q3^{[footnote 8][footnote 9]}

Location	2022 Q4	2023 Q1	2023 Q2	2023 Q3
Leeds	1,281	1,371	1,469	1,668
Manchester	1,002	1,106	1,261	1,443
Glasgow City	977	1,043	1,166	1,341
Birmingham	768	859	1,074	1,120
Sheffield	587	637	822	906
Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan	441	511	591	689
Darlington	489	582	674	661
Liverpool	503	525	566	607
Bristol, City of	408	428	556	586
Tyneside	391	421	466	540
Total Relocations	11,112	12,075	14,365	16,061

Source: Places for Growth Quarterly Relocations Tracker

Relocations by Grade

Ensuring a comprehensive grade mix in CivIl Service locations is essential to providing deep and broad career opportunities that allow people to develop and grow within a location.

The majority of PfG relocations have been made in the HEO and SEO grade bands, followed by Administrative and Executive Officer grades. The percentage of Civil Servant FTE roles relocated at grades SEO and below is now 68%. Relocations of Grades 6 and 7 FTE roles is 25%.

Table 4: Cumulative Role Relocations, by Grade: 2022 Q4 - 2023 Q3^{[footnote 10]}

Grade	2022 Q4	2023 Q1	2023 Q2	2023 Q3
Administrative Officer / Executive Officer	2,815	2,913	3,467	4,575
Higher Executive Officer / Senior Executive Officer	4,394	4,912	6,050	6,329
Grade 7 / Grade 6	3,007	3,327	3,832	4,043
Senior Civil Servant	290	316	397	389
Public Servant	605	606	620	725
Total Relocations	11,112	12,075	14,365	16,061

Source: Places for Growth Quarterly Relocations Tracker

Role Relocations by Department

Table 3: Top 10 Cumulative Role Relocation by Departments^{[footnote 11][footnote 12][footnote 13]}

Departments and Public Bodies	2022 Q4	2023 Q1	2023 Q2	2023 Q3
Home Office	2,141	2,229	2,604	3,444
Ministry of Justice[footnote 14]	1,535	1,648	1,858	2,088
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	847	1,075	1,253	1,253
Cabinet Office	1,011	1,011	1,082	1,187
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities	822	846	914	1,029
Department of Health and Social Care	728	758	782	922
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets	491	552	637	728
Department for Transport	429	515	595	629
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport	530	570	629	629
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	442	468	569	587
Total Relocations	11,112	12,075	14,365	16,061

Source: Places for Growth Quarterly Relocations Tracker

Senior Civil Service Role Relocations

A key objective of PfG is to establish sustainable career pathways into senior grades so London is not the only route for progression to the Senior Civil Service. PfG is working with departments and public bodies to develop plans that ensure that Government roles across all grades, including Grade SCS1 and above, are relocated to enable sustainable career pathways regardless of their location.

By moving senior roles to a wider range of locations we will ensure decision making no longer solely takes place in London, and that policy is designed by and for all the nations and regions of the UK.

There are two measures of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) available: the ‘centrally managed’ SCS and SCS level. The centrally managed SCS excludes a number of individuals working at a Senior Level e.g. Military Personnel at MOD, Medical staff at PHE and the Diplomatic Service. The PfG programme focuses on the centrally managed SCS in departments and public bodies rather than SCS level colleagues. Data on the centrally managed SCS are monitored using the Cabinet Office SCS Database.

As the SCS programme objective is to achieve 50% of UK-based SCS roles outside London by 2030, relocation of SCS roles from London is one component of success. Additionally any changes in the overall size of the SCS e.g. retirements and recruitment, will impact on the proportional split of SCS colleagues across the UK.

Currently 30.9% of centrally managed SCS FTE are located outside of London. UK-based SCS presence outside London has increased by 4.9 percentage points between 1 April 2020 and 1 April 2023. The percentage growth of SCS FTE outside London between the 2020 baseline and Q3 2023 is 39%.

Percentage points

The unit for the difference between two percentages. For example, moving up from 10 percent to 12 percent is a 20% increase, or an increase of 2 percentage points. Percentage points are used when comparing percentages to one another.

Senior Civil Service (SCS) Grade Structure

The Senior Civil Service is made up of the most senior leaders comprising the management team. There are four grades within the Senior Civil Service, with SCS4 Permanent Secretary being the most senior.

SCS 4 Permanent Secretary

SCS 3 Second Permanent Secretary, Director General

SCS 2 Director

SCS 1 Deputy Director

Table 5: Q2 2020 to Q2 2023: Places for Growth Senior Civil Service^{[footnote 15][footnote 16][footnote 17][footnote 18]}

Year	Quarter	London	Outside London	Total SCS	Percentage Outside London
2020	Q2	3,670	1,285	4,955	26.0%
2020	Q3	3,825	1,290	5,120	25.2%
2020	Q4	3,945	1,300	5,245	24.8%
2021	Q1	4,015	1,370	5,385	25.4%
2021	Q2	4,010	1,435	5,445	26.4%
2021	Q3	4,060	1,470	5,530	26.6%
2021	Q4	4,065	1,550	5,615	27.6%
2022	Q1	4,040	1,625	5,665	28.7%
2022	Q2 (P)	4,020	1,655	5,675	29.1%
2022	Q3 (P)	3,990	1,690	5,680	29.7%
2022	Q4 (P)	3,990	1,715	5,705	30.1%
2023	Q1 (P)	4,000	1,760	5,760	30.6%
2023	Q2 (P)[footnote 19][footnote 20]	3,980	1,785	5,765	30.9%

1. Declaration on Government Reform ↩

2. Previously 2030 ↩

3.  Civil Service Statistics 2023 ↩

4.  Civil Service Statistics 2023 ↩

5. Civil Service Statistics ↩

6. Regions are at ITL1 level ↩

7. Data is provided for the most recent four quarters; the accompanying management information contains quarters from Q3 2021 - Q3 2023. ↩

8. Locations are at ITL3 level ↩

9. Data is provided for the top 10 locations and most recent four quarters; the accompanying management information contains all locations and quarters from Q3 2021 - Q3 2023. ↩

10. Data is provided for the most recent four quarters; the accompanying management information contains quarters from Q3 2021 - Q3 2023. ↩

11. Data is provided for the top 10 departments and most recent four quarters; the accompanying management information contains all departments and quarters from Q3 2021 - Q3 2023. ↩

12. Data is presented at parent department level meaning Arm’s-Length Bodies’ relocations are aggregated with their parent departments’. ↩

13. Machinery of Government (MoG) changes have led to a number of changes to names and the creation of new successor departments, however, PfG data continued to be collected in line with pre-MoG departmental name changes until Q3 2023. Subsequent PfG reporting will reflect post-MoG departmental name changes and reporting lines. ↩

14.   MoJ data does not include negatives from their internal reporting in this table. ↩

15. These figures are based on PfG methodology and exclude Scottish government, Welsh government and overseas centrally managed SCS. ↩

16. The centrally managed Senior Civil Service incorporates only civil servants employed by civil service organisations i.e. Ministerial departments, Non-Ministerial departments, Executive Agencies and Crown NDPBs. ↩

17. Table does not include where location and region is not known. ↩

18. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and numbers between 1 and 4 are suppressed, while the percentages are derived from the unrounded figures ↩

19. Figures marked with a (P) represent quarters where data are provisional and are subject to revision. ↩

20. All other quarters data are closed. However, they may still be subject to minor revision each quarter. ↩