Yorkshire agency produces campaign to attract more Government jobs

Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire, announced a blueprint for getting more Government departments out of London and the south east at a meeting of the Economic Delivery Group, whose public and private sector representatives have been brought together to spearhead the region’s recovery.

Mrs Winterton said: “We have a good track record of attracting relocations and already have a significant presence of civil service operations here.

“This all adds up to a strong case for Yorkshire and The Humber as a base for civil service activities.”

A prospectus entitled Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government – a prospectus for Yorkshire and The Humber, sets out the business case for Yorkshire as a location for civil service activities and jobs. More than 636,000 people are currently employed in public administration in the region, including Revenue & Customs offices in Shipley.

The region also has some major central Government departments including the Department of Health in Leeds and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in Sheffield.

The prospectus has been published by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, alongside a major national review on the scope for further civil service relocation.

It points out that Yorkshire offers a competitive base in terms of office and salary costs, a skilled workforce delivering quality public services, good transport links, a quality of life and cost of living that attracts people to live and work here.

Tom Riordan, chief executive of Yorkshire Forward, said: “Yorkshire and Humber has an excellent standard of living and the right infrastructure to support the relocation of Government operations into the region.

“We have a strong track record of successfully achieving this in a way which maintains the highest quality of service and keeps costs down; enabling resources to be redirected into front-line services where they are most needed.”