Moving civil servants out of London to the North would give region £3billion boost, think-tank says

MOVING civil servants from London to the North could give a £3 billion boost to the region and cement the Blue Wall for the Tories, new research has found.

The findings come as Michael Gove prepares to reveal fresh details for his plan to move some mandarins out of the capital.

Trending In The News understands that parts of the Treasury are likely to be moved to Teesside.

While the housing department is expected to go to Wolverhampton.

Although no final decisions have been signed off yet.

Northern Research Foundation is calling for the Treasury to be moved to Leeds, Health department to go to Liverpool and Justice and Culture offices to be shifted to Greater Manchester.

Ministers have promised to move some 22,000 civil servants out of the capital as part of its mission to “level up” the country.

But the think-tank says they have identified 49,500 jobs are ripe to be shifted from the capital to other towns and cities.

And they say polling shows the transfer of jobs from south to North is a huge hit with voters.

A survey of 1,426 adults commissioned by the think-tank found that 7 in 10 voters reckon the move will improve the North as a whole.

Some 6 in 10 think it will boost jobs and half say it will improve public services in the region.

Tom Lees, the think-tank’s director, said: “The civil service, particularly the senior ranks, is in need of significant reform.

“It lacks diversity of thought, background and life experience.

“The government’s recent announcements are a good first step but lack ambition and are in danger of taking too long and running out of steam.

“Changes need to be made at pace with strong coordination from No 10 and the Cabinet office if the institutional resistance from top of the Civil Service is to be overcome.

“Moving Whitehall mandarins and roles out of London allows for recruitment of local people with different backgrounds who are hopefully more in tune with what the public thinks.”