A total of 2,000 positions across several professions will be relocated around the country over the coming years

Credit: Oxyman/CC BY-SA 3.0    Image has been cropped

Scores of digital professionals may be relocated away from the London as the Ministry of Justice opens seven new regional offices around the country by 2030.

The department will open the seven “justice collaboration centres” in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Cardiff, Ipswich and Brighton over the next eight years, with 8,000 jobs in total being moved from the capital.

Some 70% of the MoJ workforce – the vast majority of which falls under HM Courts and Tribunals Service and HM Prison and Probation Service – is already based outside London and the south east.

The new offices will see 2,000 more jobs in professions including digital, finance, and human resources move out by 2030.

A quarter of those jobs will move to Wales.

Some of the roles that are being relocated will be based at smaller, regional “justice satellite offices”, which will include desk space in courts and other existing buildings.

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As positions become available, they will be re-advertised nationally, rather than tied to a location, the ministry said.

The move is part of the Places for Growth programme, which aims to relocate civil service roles out of London to the regions and nations of the UK. In 2020, the government committed to moving 22,000 roles out of the capital over the coming decade.

MoJ permanent secretary Antonia Romeo said the regional hubs would enable the MoJ to “be more innovative and make better decisions”.

“Moving more than 2,000 MoJ roles out of London and the southeast by 2030 and opening new regional offices across England and Wales will help ensure we are hiring the most talented people from all geographies and backgrounds to help deliver for the society we serve,” she said.

Justice secretary Dominic Raab said the move would support the government’s aim of “spreading opportunity more equally across communities and tackling regional inequalities”.

“By having more of our staff based outside London we can recruit the best people wherever they live so that the justice system benefits from more diverse backgrounds, outlooks and experience,” he added.