Brexit: Up to 20 new agencies to be launched outside London to take over tasks previously done in Brussels

Ministers say the move will save money and provide careers for people in UK regions

The Government is planning to set up agencies outside of London after Brexit (nataliej/Flickr)

The Government has promised to establish up to 20 public agencies in cities outside London to take on new work running the country after Brexit.

Ministers say the agencies will be needed to deal with administrative tasks being moved from Brussels to the UK and will provide new careers for people living outside the capital.

The move could also save the public purse money with a lower cost of doing business, in particular around property prices, in the UK’s regions.

It follows an ongoing row over the Government’s plan to leave the EU’s atomic agency amid claims it could risk the country’s power supply and access to life-saving medical treatments.

Cabinet Office minister Chris Skidmore said among new offices established will be those required to run regulatory regimes currently under the watch of Brussels.

In an interview with Civil Service World, he said: “There are several organisations that will be created through Brexit.

“You’re looking at 20-plus public bodies being created through Brexit – and the commitment there is getting those outside of London.”

Mr Skidmore argued moving public sector organisations outside of the South-east would benefit social mobility and give young people in other areas a new kind of career to aspire to.

He said: “Actually getting those public organisations, whether it is the UK Statistics Authority in Newport or whether it is the Local Government Ombudsman in Coventry, [outside London] is not just about saving money.

“It is about giving people something to aspire to and to know that the Government is in their area.”

He said fellow Cabinet Office minister Caroline Nokes, who has responsibility for government property, would make formal announcements in due course.

The Conservative manifesto pledged to relocate “significant numbers” of public sector workers to new administrative centres across the country.

But the decision to leave some EU agencies has led to warnings that British sectors currently regulated by Brussels could be put at risk, such as the energy industry.

The Government has faced criticism for its decision to leave Euratom amid claims it could risk the UK’s energy supply, while doctors have argued it may make it harder to access cancer treatments relying on radioactive material.