The end of Whitehall

Back on politics already :-P

Tens of thousands of civil servants may be moved out of London in a dramatic downscaling of Whitehall under Labour plans to cut public debts and instil a culture of "smarter government''.

Leaked sections of a report to be published in a fortnight reveal that the government wants a review into the possibility of relocating some of the 132,000 civil servants and 90,000 employees of "arm's-length bodies" currently based in London and the south-east.

This has been mooted for a while so not really new and perfect common sense. I know our local council has been angling for a civil service department for several months. In this electronic age, the need to have the whole service collocated in London in no longer there, and especially with support services there is clearly a cost benefit.
It will also benefit the sites to where they go, providing a large beacon employer and additional support jobs around it. Places like Mansfield - which lack this kind of large-scale business/department would benefit greatly.