Hundreds of civil service jobs to be moved to Aberdeen

Hundreds of civil service jobs are set to be relocated to Aberdeen, the UK Government is set to announce today.

It's part of the Places for Growth scheme which aims to move 22,000 civil servants out of London by 2030.

1700 have already been moved to Scotland as part of the programme.

Now, in a bid to scale up confidence in the North Sea, a new government headquarters has been earmarked for the Granite City to accompany the already existing Net Zero Technology Centre.

It's been reported around 200 roles in the DESNZ department will be relocated to Aberdeen.

During a visit to the existing centre on Queens Road, Cabinet Office Minister John Glen said they were in the "advanced stages" of finding a second HQ.

He said: "Aberdeen is critically important. It’s obviously at the core of the energy industry and the journey to Net Zero.

"We’re going to have a second headquarters for the department for energy security and Net Zero here in Aberdeen. That department already has 100 jobs here , 70 of which have moved under the Places for Growth programme. But we are now announcing a second HQ here in Aberdeen. We’ll have hundreds more jobs in that part of the civil service.

"There will be a range of roles from senior civil servants of which there are several working here now in Scotland, dealing with the energy security challenges - how do we secure supply to meet the demand for energy we have across the industry and households in Scotland and beyond. But also how do we accelerate to Net Zero recognising world leading commitments that we’ve legislated for as a government."

Aberdeen Grampian Chamber of Commerce have been campaigning for politicians to make the move to the north east.

Policy Director Ryan Crighton said: "We have been pressing the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the UK Government to locate more civil service jobs in Aberdeen, so this is fantastic news for the region and a big victory for the Chamber.

“By bringing the headquarters of DESNZ to Aberdeen it will sit alongside other key institutions, such as the North Sea Transition Authority, Net Zero Technology Centre, Energy Transition Zone and the two universities leading on research and new technology to achieve net zero.

“Furthermore, it will place the department in proximity to an industry undergoing an exciting, yet nevertheless challenging transition — a transition that is critical we get right.

“Aberdeen is home to major North Sea operators, the biggest concentration of energy supply chain companies in the UK and a 45,000-strong offshore energy sector workforce – so it makes complete sense for energy civil servants to be located in the North-east.”