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Whitehall Civil Servants Visit Poole

Senior civil servants searching for better alternatives to costly and inefficient offices in London and the South East visited Poole on Friday 14 July in an event organised by the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Economic Partnership (BDPEP).

Representatives from government departments and agencies from London and the South East attended a briefing event held to promote Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole as a suitable place for Whitehall to do better business in.

Addressing the audience of civil servants at the RNLI Lifeboat College, Gordon Page, Chairman of BDPEP outlined how the area had all it takes to become a centre of excellence for central government services.

"The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole area appreciates the benefits brought by the presence of central government bodies such as MOD , HM Revenues & Customs , The Home Office and is determined to build on this agenda of shared success.Likewise, we in the sub-region are justly proud of this reputation for providing strong support for a diverse range of civil service activities. The area is well-placed to answer all the questions arising from the Lyons review and attract future waves of central government relocations"

In addition to learning about the economic, cultural and social benefits of the area delegates also learned from government relocation experts Governetz about the latest progress in changing the machinery of Whitehall Government.

David Werran, Chief Executive of Governetz said: "Civil Service Departments and Agencies require helpful and accessible destinations such as Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole to serve as change agents capable of addressing all relocation issues for civil service organisations, their staff and dependants. In Government relocation the old adage 'Failing to plan is planning to fail' sticks. Success has to start from rigorous initial planning leading to the delivery stage and seamless final implementation."

In a powerful case study Vince Mewett, Head of Human Resources for Standard Life Healthcare told the audience how moving to Bournemouth had greatly improved the performance of his organisation and the happiness of staff.

David Werran, Chief Executive of Governetz , spent 35 years in the Civil Service and was project director on three major relocations out of London involving more than 5000 staff. He can be contacted on 07855 411 190

The relocation programme follows the Independent Review in Public Sector Relocations, published by Sir Michael Lyons , Professor of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham, in March 2004.

The Lyons recommendations were fully accepted by the Chancellor in the Comprehensive Spending Review last July. The relocation programme is an integral part of plans, announced in the review, to move £20bn of efficiency savings into front line services.

In total by 2008 some 20,000 civil servants will have been relocated from London and the South East in a first wave of the programme.

Ian Cambrook, BDPEP. Tel: 01202 785464