Ministry of Justice to open regional office in Brighton

The Ministry of Justice is to open a regional office in Brighton, the government said today (Tuesday 1 February).

Brighton will be home to one of seven new “justice collaboration centres” as civil service jobs are relocated from the capital.

The other six will be in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Cardiff and Ipswich as part of the Places for Growth programme.

The programme, which involves relocating civil service roles out of London, is itself part of the government’s “levelling up” agenda.

The ministry said: “The scheme will ensure the public sector utilises the vast array of talent across England and Wales, with 22,000 roles moving out of the capital by 2030.

“Almost 70 percent of the MoJ workforce is already based outside of London and the south east and this move will see more than 2,000 more roles in areas like finance, human resources and digital move out by 2030.”

The Justice Secretary Domininc Raab, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, said: “This government is committed to spreading opportunity more equally across communities and tackling regional inequalities.

“By having more of our staff based outside London we can recruit the best people wherever they live so that the justice system benefits from more diverse backgrounds, outlooks and experience.”

The MoJ said: “The new ‘justice collaboration centres’ are larger office spaces with a mix of traditional workstations and shared spaces, meeting and training rooms.

“They will support face-to-face work of staff in roles including finance, digital and human resources during training and meetings in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Cardiff, Ipswich and Brighton.

“Staff will also be based at smaller new regional ‘justice satellite offices’ including desk space in pre-existing buildings like courts.”

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Steve Barclay, said: “It’s brilliant to see the Ministry of Justice is offering increased opportunities around the UK with the opening of seven new offices across in England and Wales, a clear demonstration of the government’s ambition to level up local communities by delivering long-term career prospects to their area rather than the previous heavy concentration on central London.

“Through our ‘Places for Growth’ scheme, we are bringing more opportunities and decision-making closer to the communities we serve.”

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Antonia Romeo, said: “Broadening recruitment into the ministry is crucial, not only because it creates opportunities but because it helps us to be more innovative and make better decisions.

“Moving more than 2,000 MoJ roles out of London and the south east by 2030 and opening new regional offices across England and Wales will help ensure we are hiring the most talented people from all geographies and backgrounds to help deliver for the society we serve.”

The announcement today follows several other government departments confirming that they are moving thousands of civil service jobs out of London to places such as Cardiff, Wolverhampton and Glasgow.

The government said that as jobs became available they would be advertised nationally rather than tied to a location – “an approach that has already seen most new of new recruits based outside London,” it said.