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North East gets 5% of civil service jobs

The North East has received only 5% of former London-based civil service jobs which were relocated around England.

The Lyons Review reported to then-Chancellor Gordon Brown four years ago, stated that 20,000 jobs should be moved out of London and the South East into less prosperous regions.

But it has now been revealed that just 5% of the 17,118 posts which have moved since then have come to the North East.

The figures sparked cross-party anger after it emerged only the small East of England region has received fewer jobs.

Other big industrial areas in the north dominated the figures - with the North West getting 20% and Yorkshire 19% of posts, or more than 3,000 each.

The most recent Whitehall statistics show some 891 jobs were relocated to the North East region, although up to 240 more posts will come to Tyneside with the Government’s new marine management centre.

Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell warned the Prime Minister would face “consequences” if he failed to address the low number of civil service relocations.

The MP said: “I am disappointed. I don’t think we are getting our fair share. I think Government has got to be careful about what it is doing. “What it should be doing is thinking about blackspot unemployment areas. If they don’t do that they will reap the consequences.”

Tory local government spokesman Bob Neill said: “It is a classic case of them bigging something up and they haven’t delivered on it.”

Gill Hale, regional secretary of the Unison union, said: “It is good to know that jobs will be relocated in the North East. Obviously, we would have hoped for more.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .