Sheffield chosen as centre for policy jobs under major Whitehall shake-up

A first-of-its-kind campus for Government staff in key policy roles has been launched in Sheffield.

It comes as the Cabinet Office confirms today the pilot of a new regional fast stream, part of the Government’s plans to bring jobs and drive local economic growth across the UK.

The scheme will prevent graduates having to leave the Yorkshire region to move into decision-making policy teams.

There are also plans for expanded policy apprenticeships and events to attract university-leavers within the city.

Traditionally most civil service teams based outside of London have been operationally-focused, but the aim of the policy campus is to create a hub of core policy jobs, where people can advance their careers in key decision-making positions.

Under these new plans, people will no longer have to move to, or work in, London to have a long career in the civil service.

The Government says new figures show 2,400 roles have moved out of London and into Yorkshire and the Humber under the Places for Growth programme.

The programme will move 22,000 Government roles out of London by 2030.

Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: “This policy campus is a commitment to the people of Sheffield that local people will have a central role to play in the development of major national policies.

“Relocating roles out of London and establishing skills clusters will provide a fantastic economic boost for the people of Yorkshire and the Humber.”

Around 1,000 civil servants working in departments including the Department for Education (DfE), the Home Office and the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) are based at the Sheffield site.

The Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Transport and the Cabinet Office have moved the most roles to Yorkshire and the Humber.

637 roles have relocated into Sheffield, primarily in the Home Office alongside more DWP, DfE and Ministry of Justice jobs which have moved to the city under the scheme. Sheffield also has 75 senior civil servants based in the city.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said: “For too long in the Civil Service, talented people wanting to build careers in specific policy areas within Government have needed to leave their home town or city and move to the South East to get on.

“Initiatives such as this are absolutely critical if we’re going to remove that barrier and spread fulfilling career opportunities across the whole of the UK.

“We need people with a broad range of experiences, backgrounds and insights if we are going to deliver for the whole of the UK and initiatives such as the Sheffield Policy Campus will allow us to do exactly that.”

The plans were undertaken in conjunction with Sheffield City Council, The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University and the combined authority with the intention of building a strong talent pipeline for policy jobs in the city.