Government Departments, London (Review of Work)

HC Deb 25 February 1963 vol 672 cc123-4W

Captain W. Elliot

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding the carrying out of its functions outside London; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

It is the policy of the Government to disperse Government offices from London to the full extent possible without serious loss of efficiency or in the service given to this House and to the public. Some 20 per cent. of the headquarters staff of Government Departments already work out of London, and in all three-quarters of the Civil Service work in regional and local offices, the great majority of which are, of course, out of London. The Government have, however, asked Sir Gilbert Flemming, a former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Education, to undertake in co-operation with all the Departments concerned, a comprehensive review of the work of Departments located in London, and to make recommendations as to which of them might be transferred from London in whole or in part.