Only one in five civil servants have moved

MINISTERS were under pressure last night to explain why only one in five civil servants have moved under the Government’s decentralisation plan, launched more than four years ago.

Fewer than 2,000 people have signed up under the scheme and in some departments and agencies just a handful of civil servants have made the move.

Tens of thousands of metres of office space have been rented, bought and built in counties selected for decentralisation.