Government Reverses Plan for Department in Stoke-on-Trent

A government office that was scheduled for permanent establishment in Stoke-on-Trent will now be situated elsewhere. The government announced that the Office for Place, a department focused on assisting communities, will instead be redeployed with its bases distributed across the country. A government spokesperson clarified that this decision would not affect broader governmental commitments to the city, including the allocation of £19.8 million for levelling up initiatives. Jonathan Gullis, a former Member of Parliament for the city, characterized the move as “tragic news” and accused the Labour party of neglecting cities like Stoke-on-Trent. “Yet again more investment into our community and more jobs for our local people [are] being taken away by what is now turning out to be quite a cruel and callous Labour government,” said Mr Gullis. Matthew Pennycook, the minister for housing and planning, explained that integrating the work of the Office for Place within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government would enable experience to be more effectively incorporated into decision-making processes. The Office for Place had been leasing desks at Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Civic Centre, having announced last year its intention to be based in the city. A council spokesperson indicated that the authority recognized the government’s need to make difficult choices and found it understandable that priorities such as tackling homelessness and increasing house-building were being addressed. “The city was proud to provide a home for the Office for Place during their brief existence and we hope that the government will consider the benefit of maintaining some of the national chief planner’s newly expanded team here in the city,” they said.