HUNDREDS of civil service jobs are set to relocate to Wrexham from London in the next few years.

The UK Government is bringing forward its target for moving civil service jobs out of London by three years, from 2030 to 2027. 

This comes as part of the government’s Places for Growth programme, which aims to use the talent pool spread across the UK, whilst ensuring that the civil service is reflective of the communities it serves.

The newly-appointed Cabinet Office Minister John Glen MP visited Wrexham to announce how it will benefit from a fresh drive in Civil Service growth. 

More than 300 hundred roles from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will be based in Wrexham, including role relocations from London and additional recruitment.

A roundtable discussion was held at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground stadium with local stakeholders, including Wrexham Council, North Wales universities and Government officials about future plans for the civil service in Wrexham. 

The Leader spoke Mr Glen after the discussion about the plans.

He said: “Wrexham is right at the heart of that plan. We are announcing DWP are going to recruit 270 roles and the MoJ will relocate 50 roles to Wrexham.

“I hear very clearly the enormous development that has happened in the city over the last few years, centred a lot round this football club, and there is a determination that I need to go back to Whitehall and firm up some plans for additional roles to come to Wrexham.

“We are well ahead on where we said we would be.

“It’s been great to be here in Wrexham and see how we can fuse the economic growth and positive story of the city alongside the opportunity to put more civil servants here and actually get people to join the Civil Service from Wrexham and know they have a career.

“Not just one role for a short amount of time, they could join the DWP in Wrexham, then work for the Department of Transport maybe or work on projects that are important to the wider Mersey Dee Region.”

He added: “This Government was elected four years ago on the basis that the economic geography of the UK is skewed towards London and the South-East.

“That needs to change and we need to do everything we can to move those jobs out. This is about prioritising place over individual departments – saying Wrexham is a fantastic place for employment, it’s a fantastic place for a career in the Civil Service, therefore all departments should make a contribution to that hub.”

With a General Election expected within the next year, Mr Glen was quizzed as to whether a potential change of government could affect the plans.

He said: “It would be very irregular for decisions that have been made around headcount moves, people’s lives, civil servants who will serve all governments whatever the outcome of general elections, to interfere with that.

“Obviously we’re not here to bind the hands of future governments whatever party they may be, I’m just doing the best thing I can in the role I have at the moment.

Mr Glen added that staff down south who will be relocating are looking forward to the move.

“Many of them are very excited about it”, he said.

“They see the opportunities to live in Wrexham, perhaps have an enhanced quality of life given their interests personally, the culture, the sport, the proximity of the coast and countryside.

“All of those things play a role and this is a story we need to tell more broadly – there is a life beyond London and there’s life in the Civil Service beyond London and Whitehall.

“I spoke to Sarah Atherton (Wrexham’s MP) several times and she’s as ever passionately making the case for Wrexham as she has done over the last four years.

“She’s always telling me something else that needs to be done in her constituency.”

Mr Glen added conversations would be had with Wrexham Council about where in the city the jobs would be located.

He added: “The government property agency will work with the local council and determine what’s the best way to move that forward.”