Parts of civil service to be moved out of central London - Gove

PARTS of the Civil Service are to be moved out of central London to other areas of the UK, Michael Gove has confirmed.

The Cabinet Office minister said the move would help to distribute “opportunity, jobs and investment fairly” across the country.

But he said that proposals to move the House of Lords from the Palace of Westminster to the city of York are a “matter for Parliament”.

In an interview with BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Gove was asked if chunks of the Civil Service would be moved outside central London.

He replied: “Yes.

“I think it is vitally important that decision-makers are close to people. I think it is vitally important that the strength of the UK Government is displayed across the whole of the United Kingdom and that we distribute opportunity, jobs and investment fairly.

“We’ve already got civil servants in Scotland, who are working for the Department for International Development, and in Wales, working for the Department for Transport but we can do more.

“It’s good for the Union, it’s good for equal opportunity, it is good for what we call levelling up.

“As far as the legislature goes, that is obviously a question for the House of Commons and the House of Lords - Government has to tread carefully.

“But my own view? I think that, if people were to see Parliament closer to different parts of the United Kingdom, then I don’t see there are any reasons why we can’t have more operations of the UK Parliament in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“Our UK Parliament is a parliament for everyone in the United Kingdom, so making it more accessible, and we can discuss how, is a good thing.”

Asked how the Civil Service can be made more representative of the country at large, Mr Gove said: “One of the ways that we can do that is by having a broader geographical spread of decision-making in the UK.”