Government recommits to major civil service relocation plan

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has reconfirmed the Government’s plan to open another major civil service hub in the West Midlands.

The Birmingham 3 Hub is due to follow the Arena Central and 23 Stephenson Street sites in central Birmingham in consolidating, creating, and relocating a significant number of Civil Service jobs to the city.

In a meeting with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Mr Dowden confirmed that the plan was going ahead – with a location still to be finalised.

It is hoped that the Birmingham 3 Hub will become a specialist transport office, housing up to 4,000 officials from both the Department for Transport and National Highways – alongside other departments. Birmingham is already home to 27 UK government organisations.

The aim is for the site to be open between 2027 and 2028, with the search for a suitable city centre location ongoing.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden discussed the relocation of civil service jobs to the region during their meeting

The Deputy Prime Minister said: “More than 32,000 UK civil servants work in the West Midlands, including some of the most senior grades. We need a civil service which represents the people it serves and makes its decisions in their communities.

“That’s why I’m working with the Mayor to ensure that we find a location for a new Government Hub in Birmingham, housing thousands of civil servants delivering for the people of the West Midlands and boosting local businesses.”

As well as Birmingham, the Government has worked with the Mayor to relocate significant numbers of civil servants to the West Midlands – including more than 200 to both Coventry and Wolverhampton, the latter of which is home to the second HQ for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities. A total of 1,902 civil service roles have been moved to the West Midlands since 2018.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The Government has been steadfast in its commitment to Levelling Up in the West Midlands, and civil service relocation has been an important part of that.

“I am therefore delighted that the Deputy Prime Minister has confirmed that plans for the Birmingham 3 Hub are alive and well. As you would expect, new working patterns have led to the Government rethinking exactly what office space it would need in the region, but the critical point is that this relocation will happen as planned and we will reap the benefits.

“I want to thank Oliver for his ongoing commitment to the West Midlands, and we will continue our work together to bring more civil service roles to the region - as well as ensuring local people have the right skills to win these jobs.”

The hub projects in Birmingham and other regional centres were initiated by the Government as part of its Places for Growth programme, established in 2018 in order to move tens of thousands of civil service roles out of London by 2030 and decentralise the management of key government functions. The Government is currently over 50% of the way to meeting that target, with 14,000 roles moved so far.