Ministry of Justice's Leeds move brings new jobs to city

Leeds will be home to one of eight regional justice collaboration centres

New jobs are to be created in Leeds as part of plans by the Ministry of Justice to move more of its roles outside London and the South East.

The city will be home to one of eight new regional justice collaboration centres sited across the country.

Staff will work in a range of finance, digital and human resource roles, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

Around 2,000 jobs will be created across all centres, though the MoJ has not yet said how many will be in Leeds.

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Almost 70% of the MoJ's workforce is currently based outside London and the South East, with the new move expected to bring the total amount outside the capital up to 22,000 by 2030.

The government said it was part of wider plans to move more civil service roles into the regions as part of its levelling-up agenda.

The new justice collaboration centres are described as "larger office spaces with a mix of traditional workstations and shared spaces, meeting and training rooms".

The other centres will be in Liverpool, Nottingham, South Tyneside, Cardiff and Brighton.

According to the plans, staff will also be based at smaller new regional justice satellite offices, including desk spaces in pre-existing buildings like courts.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: "By having more of our staff based outside London we can recruit the best people wherever they live so the justice system benefits from more diverse backgrounds, outlooks and experience."