Yesterday the Government unveiled its new Civil Service Policy Hub in Sheffield, as part of its ambition to move more top civil service jobs outside the capital.

This will see the first fast track civil service scheme launched in the city which already is home to civil servants from the Department for Education (DfE), the Home Office and the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).

More than 2,400 government roles which were previously based in London have moved to Yorkshire and the Humber under the Government’s initiative, with the new campus hosting 1,000 across various departments, with an estimated £30 million added to the local economy through the move.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said the move was an attempt to remove barriers to people who do not want to leave their home town or city to join Whitehall.

In an Interview with The Yorkshire Post, Alex Burghart, a Cabinet Office minister, said that this will allow the Government to make the most of the area’s top universities and trainee schemes, such as in manufacturing, rather than relocating civil servants from the capital.

Mr Burghart said that “the sky's the limit” when asked how senior the Government wants to see people progress in the region, adding that for too long, many felt that they had to leave South Yorkshire in order to get on with their careers.

“One of things that we really want to ensure with this is that we're enabling our excellent civil servants to be able to build careers here in Sheffield and in the Yorkshire region,” he said.

“For a long time, people have felt that whilst we've had civil service roles here, people have felt that in order to progress, they've needed to move away.

“We want to make sure that we're not just moving lots of entry level jobs to the region, we want to make sure that we're also bringing senior roles here, very senior roles, so that people can feel that there's a future here in the city.

“We want them to be able to stay here and make sure that they can contribute to the policy work that our country needs.”

“We're launching our first regional fast track, which is a great way for young talented people to build their career quickly, in civil service, get experience of different departments and progress to senior roles.

“You've got your fantastic higher education, got fantastic further education, you've got brilliant, high end manufacturing.

“Having the exchange between those strengths is going to make you know, the whole greater than some of the parts.”

Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “Sheffield has been the hidden home of the Civil Service for years, so today’s announcement is both welcome recognition and a significant opportunity to build on our very real leadership in UK policy making.

“That new Policy Campus will not just offer thought leadership now, but a very real talent pipeline focussed on the policy profession right here in our region. That will mean policy apprenticeships, piloting of a regional Fast Stream programme and high-quality learning across the board.

“This is a huge opportunity to help break down barriers between Whitehall and local and regional government and help us work together for the benefit of everyone across the UK. Step by step, ‘stay near and go far’ is becoming a reality in South Yorkshire.”

South Yorkshire to get first regional civil service fast stream