The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Francis Maude
Staffing is kept under review but I have no plans to move Cabinet Office staff to Brighton.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Brandon Lewis
Whilst noting the many virtues of Brighton, as recognised by the conferring of City status to the towns of Brighton and Hove by Her Majesty in 2000, I am afraid I have to disappoint my hon. Friend. My Department has no current plans to dig out our bucket and spade and move to the seaside.
Since May 2010, my Department’s priority has been to rationalise our wider estate to reduce costs. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries generating net savings in the period of around £7 million per annum. The Department has also successfully sub-let surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by around £11.1 million.
The Department has also negotiated the early surrender of Eland House and is shortly scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham Street to share premises with the Home Office. This move will reduce our Department’s running costs by a further £9 million a year and generate savings for the taxpayer of £220 million over the lifetime of the building’s lease. This illustrates the scope for Government and, indeed, the public sector as a whole to make sensible savings through better property management.
However, I commend the hon. Member for his cheerleading of the City as a place to do business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs Helen Grant
The Department has no plans to bring forward such proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Jenny Willott
We do not have any plans at this time to relocate staff or offices to Brighton.
BIS currently has one active property in Brighton, Crown House, which houses the Insolvency Service.
Any future decisions to move staff and offices to Brighton would be led by the business needs of BIS which would be supported by the Property and Asset Management Team.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many quangos have been abolished since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Government has already reduced the number of public bodies by over 280. 185 bodies have been abolished.
This is the largest restructuring of public bodies in a generation, making the landscape smaller, more accountable and transparent, and offering better value for money to the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Gregory Barker
The Department of Energy and Climate Change have no plans to relocate either (a) staff or (b) offices to Brighton.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Mark Francois
There are no current plans for the Department to relocate staff or offices to Brighton.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Elizabeth Truss
The Department for Education does not plan to relocate its staff or offices to Brighton.
Following the Department’s Estates Review in 2012, it was announced that the Department would rationalise the existing estate from 12 core sites to 6, while maximising the efficiency of the retained sites. This has now been accomplished and the 6 remaining properties are located in Coventry, Darlington, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of her Department to Brighton; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID currently has dual UK headquarters in London and Scotland. We have no plans to relocate staff to Brighton.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Jeremy Wright
Although reducing and rationalising the Ministry of Justice estate could result in relocations, there is no centrally driven relocation target to this effect. Any relocation is done based on the operational needs of the Department. The Ministry of Justice currently has no plans to relocate its staff or offices to Brighton. The Ministry of Justice continues to work with the Government Property Unit to ensure that the Ministry of Justice estate operates in an efficient manner and represents value for money.