Today I challenged Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, and the Business, Innovation and Skills Department’s most senior civil servant, Martin Donnelly, over plans to close the Department’s Sheffield office.

At a meeting of the Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee, I asked Mr Donnelly if the decision to close Sheffield’s BIS office was based on a business case or a cost benefit analysis. Mr Donnelly said that there was no specific document outlining the business case for the closure. 

The decision to move 247 civil service jobs from Sheffield to London is devastating for the people losing their jobs, it damages the local economy and it makes decision-making more London-centric. It’s completely unacceptable that there has been no proper business case or cost benefit analysis. It will end up costing the Government more, because there is no way on earth that moving an office from Sheffield to London will save money.

You can watch a video of me questioning the Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary here. 

Sign the petition urging the Government to scrap plans to close Sheffield’s BIS Department here.