Places for Growth 2030
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-27)

The role of Places for Growth in relocating Government roles, building Civil Service communities and leading the Plan for London.

About Places for Growth 2030

The Places for Growth programme is shaping a Civil Service that is more representative of the communities we serve, strengthening the Government presence across the UK and bringing more senior and policy roles outside of London. This initiative is part of the government’s commitment to create a Productive and Agile State, reduce bureaucracy, operate with maximum efficiency, and focus resources on frontline services.

PfG is a cross-government programme that sits within the Office of Government Property (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/office-of-government-property-ogp) in the Cabinet Office. We work closely with Government departments in three key areas, helping them to: strengthen their presence in the regions and nations; build thriving Civil Service communities; and consolidate the London estate.

Places for Growth reports to Minister Turley (https://www.gov.uk/government/people/anna-turley) the Minister of State in the Cabinet Office (Minister without Portfolio) and the Government Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, Catherine Little (https://www.gov.uk/government/people/cat-little).

A UK-Wide Civil Service

Places for Growth is helping transform the Civil Service to be closer to the communities it serves by:
- Building on the success of Places for Growth to date and bringing more decision-making out of Whitehall and closer to communities, ensuring 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are located outside London in the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030.
- Strengthening Government presence across the country with 13 cross-government locations: Greater Manchester, York, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Sheffield, Darlington and Newcastle.
- Bringing central and local governments together in place to work differently, launching Test and Learn pilots to trial multi-disciplinary teams across Government.
- Strengthening the talent pipeline into Government across the country by launching a new apprenticeship programme, setting an ambition for 50% of Fast Stream roles to be based outside London by 2030, and committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA).
Growing the Civil Service presence throughout the country brings rewarding cross-government career opportunities and supports local economic growth, fostering geographical balance and making the Civil Service even more diverse, representative and effective. This transformation supports the Government’s Plan for Change and Public Sector Reform ambitions by building partnerships between local and central government, aligning skills with regional strengths and ensuring policy reflects local needs.

Places for Growth will also support the establishment of more regional Thematic campuses to bring together civil servants from various departments in the same town or city and support closer working with partners in local government, educational institutions and business all working on related policy areas. This collaborative approach encourages more informed and innovative policy-making. Uniting departments in this way supports the development of strong cross-government career pathways and ensures talented professionals can have rewarding careers while staying in their communities.

Civil Service Communities

Along with Permanent Secretary Place Champions, the Places for Growth team supports regional Heads of Place to help build and embed thriving Civil Service communities across the UK, and develop strong local partnerships.

Working collectively with senior leaders across departments in the regions and nations, Heads of Place facilitate collaboration across central and local government, industry, and private sector partners on cross-cutting issues to better deliver for citizens. By working on a location-first basis, Heads of Place ensure the Civil Service presence across the UK is sustainable, efficient, and has a positive impact on local communities.

Plan for London

Places for Growth leads on the development of the Plan for London alongside the Government Property Agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-property-agency). The Plan for London focuses on reshaping our estate to match departmental workforce plans that allow for efficiency savings; helping to create workplaces which meet the needs of a modern workforce; and ensuring London remains a vibrant Civil Service location, including career development opportunities across all functions and professions.

Plan for London will support the Civil Service to become more productive and agile by reducing the London workforce, delivering admin savings by closing 11 buildings in this SR including 2 core buildings (including the specific building closures of 102 Petty France and 39 Victoria Street).

Contacts

For more information about Places for Growth role relocations, the Plan for London or our work building Civil Service communities please contact: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).