Civil service posts outside London rose by 6,500 in the year to March, Cabinet Office figures show
Greater Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds gained the most staff, while the share of senior civil servants based outside London reached 36.6% against a 2030 target of half.
By Daily Oracles News Team2 min read
The civil service grew faster outside London than in the capital over the 12 months to March 2026, according to Cabinet Office data published on Thursday under the Places for Growth programme.
Measured in full-time equivalents, staff in the 13 cities and towns the programme treats as its main regional hubs rose by 4,815 to 125,045. Other locations outside London added 1,685, taking them to 253,880. London grew by 610 to 103,215. Taken together, the posts outside London went up by 6,500, and the government says four in five civil servants now work in the nations and regions.
Where the posts went
Greater Manchester gained the most, up 1,245 to 24,955. It was followed by:
- Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, up 870 to 10,820
- Leeds, up 765 to 15,225
- Birmingham and Wolverhampton, up 750 to 16,690
- Glasgow, up 395 to 10,700
- Edinburgh, up 340 to 4,095
Three hubs got smaller. Tyneside, which at 17,870 remains the second-largest hub after Greater Manchester, lost 215, York lost 165 and Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire lost 35.
The figures come from Civil Service Statistics and are rounded and partly suppressed under the usual rules, so small movements should be read with care.
The 2030 targets
The programme aims to have half of all UK-based senior civil servants working outside London by 2030, with the same ambition for roles in the Fast Stream. The senior figure stood at 36.6% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 26% when the data series began in 2020. The series switched to a wider definition of senior roles in March 2025, bringing in some health professionals, military personnel and senior diplomats who were previously left out.
More than 24,600 roles have been relocated out of London since the programme started. The government expects the moves to save £1.1bn in salaries and property costs by 2030 and to bring £880m of benefit to local economies. As part of that, 11 government buildings are due to close during this Spending Review period, including 102 Petty France and 39 Victoria Street.
