§ 18. Mr. PickthallTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State what his policy is for dispersing Government Departments to the regions. [55951]
§ Mrs. RocheIndividual Departments and agencies are free to make their own decisions about location and facilities on the basis of operational requirements and value for money.
However, the existing dispersal of many civil service functions across the UK has worked well, and the Government believe that the administration of public service benefits from this national and regional diversity. Following the publication on 9 May 2002 of the White Paper on regional governance, we will aim to:
increase the mobility of civil servants between headquarters offices and regional offices (in particular the Government Offices);encourage interchange between the civil service and organisations in the regions;encourage Whitehall Departments to consider the balance of their staff as between the centre and the regions in terms of effective policy design and implementation.In particular, Departments will have to demonstrate the case for not locating new streams of work outside London and the south-east.