Social engineering or too good an opportunity to miss

chiefie

Can't understand why the government dont move central government departments to the regions.

That would reduce the pressure on public services in London, and hopefully house prices. They would also solve recruitment problems,for key workers go can't afford to live in London and as a result suffer miserable commuting towns.

It would help to regenerate the regions (North?)

Can only see them having done it with the bbc in Salford.

am I being a bit simple in thinking this ?

DiggerUK

chiefie wrote: »

...........am I being a bit simple in thinking this ?

In a nutshell, yes.
Do you honestly think that the people in a position to make such decisions, would happily move from homes in Battersea, Blackheath, Belsize Park, and Borough, to go and live in Bangor..._

Firetastic

Where I live in Scotland there have been bids to have the new Social Security Benefits Agency based here instead of usually Edinburgh. I think there should be decentralisation instead of having agencies based in big cities all the time.

What's wrong with having them in small towns? It would improve employment around here massively.

However it may not happen if SNP want Westminister to hold on to welfare powers for another three years:mad: Alas another story for another day.

Mr.Generous

they absolutely should do this, the rental or purchase price for office space in say Burnley, Lancashire approx £400 pcm per 1000sq ft, in London it is approx £400 pcm for an office which fits 1 person - so about 100 sq ft.
Wages could be lower too, much lower. House prices so much cheaper if they picked an area in need of investment.
Lack of a skilled workforce I hear you say?
Nonsense, make em all redundant in London and they will come...

mayonnaise

Mr.Generous wrote: »

they absolutely should do this, the rental or purchase price for office space in say Burnley, Lancashire approx £400 pcm per 1000sq ft, in London it is approx £400 pcm for an office which fits 1 person - so about 100 sq ft.
Wages could be lower too, much lower. House prices so much cheaper if they picked an area in need of investment.
Lack of a skilled workforce I hear you say?
Nonsense, make em all redundant in London and they will come...

No, that's not what usually happens.
The ONS move to Newport being a good example.

90% of ONS staff were “unwilling to move” out of London, leading to a “loss of knowledge and experience”

The decision to move the Office for National Statistics (ONS) outside of London – resulting in the loss of 90% of its London-based staff – had a detrimental effect on the quality of its work, an independent review of the statistics authority has said.

http://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/news/ons-move-out-london-%E2%80%9Cundermined-uk-statistics%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-report

DiggerUK

mayonnaise wrote: »

No, that's not what usually happens.
The ONS move to Newport being a good example......

Even banking staff don't want to leave the employment bubble that is London.
A thousand need to move....only 300 have signed up.
Me and Mrs.D spent half our lives working in London, and once you leave, there isn't a cat in hells chance of moving back. As things stand that is what we are happy with at this stage in our lives..._

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/14/hsbc-birmingham-staff-move

ThemeOne

These days, with most business being conducted electronically, there is very little practical reason for any business to be in central London especially considering the extra expense. Yet so many remain there - I even heard today Facebook is opening a new office in the West End.

I think they stay there, or set up there, mostly because of staff i.e. fear they will not attract / retain the staff they need in another location.

vivatifosi

The government undertook a review at the beginning of this century and decided that they should move a lot of civil servants out of London. It was called the Lyons Review. Not a lot has happened since:

http://www.civilservant.org.uk/library/2004_lyons_independent_review_of_public_sector_relocation_exec_summary.pdf

westernpromise

Mr.Generous wrote: »

they absolutely should do this, the rental or purchase price for office space in say Burnley, Lancashire approx £400 pcm per 1000sq ft, in London it is approx £400 pcm for an office which fits 1 person - so about 100 sq ft.
Wages could be lower too, much lower. House prices so much cheaper if they picked an area in need of investment.
Lack of a skilled workforce I hear you say?
Nonsense, make em all redundant in London and they will come...

Burnley is cheap for a reason.

Being a hideous place to live is a big part of that.

kabayiri

westernpromise wrote: »

Burnley is cheap for a reason.

Being a hideous place to live is a big part of that.

It's commutable....the M65 is a pretty fast motorway. (not a car park like the M25).

But yes, you're right in that places are usually cheap for clear reasons.

There is another angle though.

One of our blue chip energy suppliers has a big administration office in East Manchester, in an area you would probably describe as 'hideous'.

They have the best staff retention ratios there compared with any of their offices. Simply put, people value good quality jobs there and want to keep them.

In London the attractions of competitors could be too distracting..

westernpromise

kabayiri wrote: »

They have the best staff retention ratios there compared with any of their offices.

That's because there are no other jobs there. Changing jobs means moving house.

Provincial cities like Manchester increasingly resemble places like Australia, Canada, Scotland and New Zealand, in that if you are educated and you want a decent job, you have to leave.