§ 47. Mr. Cyril D. TownsendTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his Department's policy on dispersing staff to the regions; and what proportion of his staff now work outside London.
§ Mr. NewtonThe Government's policy is that Civil Service work should be located where it can be done most174W cost-effectively and provide the best service to the public. The Government's urban and regional policies are taken into account at an early stage when considering each possible relocation, in consultation with territorial departments and my Department's regional offices.
The Department has some 12,550 staff in post and about half of them will be working outside central London when the laboratory of the Government chemist completes the move to Teddington which is currently in hand.
We have taken decisions on moving about a thousand more jobs out of central London. We are also carrying out a thorough review to assess the extent to which other units of the Department may operate more cost-effectively out of London.