Region loses 6,000 civil service jobs in 10 years

According to the Office for National Statistics there are currently 28,880 civil servants working in the region, down by 6,260 (18 per cent) from 35,140 in 2010.

It comes after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced plans to open a second headquarters in Wolverhampton, with 500 posts stationed in the region by 2025.

The figures show a reduction of around 900 posts in Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Across England the number of civil service jobs have been cut by 15 per cent since 2010, with the headcount falling by 64,890 to 363,470.

The east of the country has seen the biggest reduction, with numbers falling by 31 per cent to 21,160.

The South East has seen a 26 per cent drop to 39,470, while in the East Midlands staff numbers have fallen by 22 per cent to 20,400.

London is the only part of the country where the number of civil service posts has risen in the past decade, with the latest figures showing a six per cent rise to 91,660.

Recovery

Civil service numbers dropped massively between 2010 and 2016 as thousands of posts were axed under modernisation plans. They have started to grow again in recent years.

The Government has pledged to move more civil servant jobs – including senior roles – out of London as part of its levelling up agenda.

The plans will see a Treasury campus set up in Darlington, a new national infrastructure bank in Leeds, and a second home for the Department for Transport in Birmingham.

The MHCLG wants staff to be working in Wolverhampton by the summer.

According to permanent secretary Jeremy Pocklington there are currently 300 staff working in the region, with at least 500 due to be there by 2025.

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden, the Shadow City Minister, said: "The recent announcement of relocation of 200 MHCLG jobs was very welcome, but these figures show we have lost over 6,000 civil service jobs over the past decade, and around 900 in the Wolverhampton and Walsall area.

"If we combine that with the rise of 7,000 in overall unemployment in the city over the past year it shows the size of the task we face in putting a strong economic recovery in place."