Hundreds of Government jobs transferred to the region

Leeds is one of five UK cities to have received the most roles under the Places for Growth initiative, with 197 new Government roles relocated in the final quarter of 2023.

It brings the total number of roles relocated to Leeds to over 1,865 since the launch of Places for Growth.

The Government programme has relocated a total of 18,283 civil service roles from London to locations across the United Kingdom, putting the Government ahead of schedule against its commitment to relocate 22,000 roles by 2027.

Latest relocation figures follow on from the Government’s recent decision to bring forward its original target of relocating 22,000 roles from 2030 to 2027.

The North West has benefited most from role relocation, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, with 3,720 and 3,392 roles relocated since 2021, respectively.

Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham have collectively seen over 7,300 roles relocated since the launch of Places for Growth in 2021, with 826 relocated in the last quarter of 2023.

Government modelling at the outset of the programme indicated Places for Growth could provide an economic boost of between £260m to £1.4bn in total across the UK. Latest relocation studies suggest a local economic benefit of £30m per 1,000 roles relocated.

Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General, John Glen, said: “Our plans to move more Government roles outside of London continue to progress at a pace.

“Month by month, we are seeing the transformation of our civil service into an organisation that better reflects the perspectives of people from across the United Kingdom.

“We also remain focused on our commitment to ensure half of all UK-based senior civil servants based outside of London by 2030 — creating opportunities for talent from all corners of the country to rise to the highest levels of the civil service.”