I’m urging the Government to save jobs that were to be moved to London from the Sheffield Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Office now the Department of Education (DoE) is taking over key policy areas.

In light of the DoE taking over responsibility for further education, skills and higher education from the BIS Department, I’m writing to the new Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening urging her to keep posts in Sheffield.

Currently BIS shares a building with the DoE in Sheffield. A 2012 DoE review recognised the value of having policy makers in the region. It said: “We benefit from maintaining sites around the country -; we get alternative perspectives on our policy issues, we can draw from a wider recruitment pool, and employing people in sites outside London helps to keep costs down.”

The abolition of the Business Innovation and Skills Department is a big mistake, but it provides an opportunity to put a stop to the crazy decision to centralise policy work in London. The Education Department already has a Sheffield office which is shared with the BIS staff, whose expertise is in further and higher education as well as apprenticeships.  They can now continue their work in Sheffield as part of the Education Department.