20,000 Civil Service jobs may be lost

More than 20,000 Civil Service jobs could be forced out of London and the South-East under drastic plans now being implemented by Gordon Brown.

The exodus to Scotland, Wales and the regions is planned to hit civil servants at all levels, including senior policy-makers.

The Chancellor this week barred all Whitehall departments from leasing new property in London and the South-East without Treasury consent. The freeze also covers renewal of leases.

A report published by the Treasury yesterday says it should be possible to meet the target of shifting 20,000 jobs "or even exceed it".

The report from the Treasury's investigator, Sir Michael Lyons, demands a farreaching rethink which could eventually see some Civil Service jobs, like call centres, shifted abroad. But Sir Michael says the first priority must be a "radical change" inside the UK.

The move is the latest in a series of government blows for the capital, highlighted by the Standard yesterday. It looks likely to fuel complaints that job losses are now being imposed on top of the "spending gap" of up to £20billion between tax raised and money spent on London's public services.

Mr Brown's scheme has targeted four groups - call centres, IT and support staff, scientific and other advisers and, most controversially, policy-makers.

Sir Michael declares that the cherished belief that policy-makers need to be in London close to their ministerial masters "must be challenged". And he says the internet and video conferencing allow organisations to work effectively across big distances.

At present one in three of the 700,000 civil servants in Government departments and related agencies are based in London and the South-East even though it is the most expensive business area. Numbers in the capital have climbed four per cent in six years.

Unions are ready to accept the shift to help regenerate regions beyond the South nut they fear the Treasury hopes for big savings by setting lower pay rates in the regions. Mark Serwotka, boss of the Public and Commercial Services Union, warned "this must not be just a cost-cutting exercise".