HUNDREDS of civil servants will soon be relocating to Aberdeen following a sustained campaign by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
The Financial Times reports that over 200 people from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ) will be relocating to the Granite City in 2024 to help shore up confidence in the North Sea.
Plans are due to be unveiled tomorrow by deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden as part of a wider announcement on civil service decentralisation.
It comes amid a push to move the UK energy department to Aberdeen, with calls from the Chamber in March ahead of the Spring Budget as part of the UK’s “levelling up” agenda.
Policy director at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, Ryan Crighton, said that bringing the roles to Aberdeen makes “complete sense.”
“We have been pressing the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the UK Government to locate more civil service jobs in Aberdeen, so this is fantastic news for the region and a big victory for the Chamber,” he said.
“By bringing the headquarters of DESNZ to Aberdeen it will sit alongside other key institutions, such as the North Sea Transition Authority, Net Zero Technology Centre, Energy Transition Zone and the two universities leading on research and new technology to achieve net zero.
“Furthermore, it will place the department in proximity to an industry undergoing an exciting, yet nevertheless challenging transition — a transition that is critical we get right.
“Aberdeen is home to major North Sea operators, the biggest concentration of energy supply chain companies in the UK and a 45,000-strong offshore energy sector workforce – so it makes complete sense for energy civil servants to be located in the North-east.”
It comes as Rishi Sunak has pledged annual licensing rounds for the North Sea, and as both major parties have ramped up rhetoric around the industry ahead of the looming general election.
The PM has come under fire for rolling back green policies, including delaying the ban on petrol and diesel cars.
