Thousands of civil service jobs set for Birmingham

A location for the new civil service hub in Birmingham was yet to be finalised, the government said

Another civil service hub will open in Birmingham as part of the government's attempts to move jobs out of London.

It follows the Arena Central and 23 Stephenson Street sites with the latest hub's location yet to be finalised, the deputy prime minister said.

Ministers hope it will be a specialist transport office and open by 2028.

More than 200 civil servants have also been relocated to both Coventry and Wolverhampton, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) said.

The third hub should house up to 4,000 officials from both the Department for Transport and National Highways, alongside other departments, under the plan.

Currently, the Arena Central office is housed to civil servants from HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Stephenson Street site which opened last year and was built in the old Woolworths and Theatre Royal, can house up to 1,700 civil servants from 20 different departments.

The move is the latest part of the government's Places for Growth programme, which aims to relocate 22,000 civil service roles out of the capital by 2030.

The government is currently more than 50% of the way to meeting that target, with 14,000 roles moved so far, the WMCA added.