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| 'Sick joke' to locate Redcar steelworks job in London, says Labour | 'Sick joke' to locate Redcar steelworks job in London, says Labour |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour MPs have accused ministers of playing a “sick joke” after it emerged that a government job overseeing regeneration in Tees Valley will be based in London. | |
| Sajid Javid’s Department for Communities and Local Government is advertising for a London-based project lead for Tees Valley’s Mayoral Development Corporation, a role it says “can include occasional trips to Tees Valley”. | Sajid Javid’s Department for Communities and Local Government is advertising for a London-based project lead for Tees Valley’s Mayoral Development Corporation, a role it says “can include occasional trips to Tees Valley”. |
| The job description says the key focus of the role would be to “set the direction for, and deliver, a new Mayoral Development Corporation covering the former SSI [Redcar steelworks] site”. | The job description says the key focus of the role would be to “set the direction for, and deliver, a new Mayoral Development Corporation covering the former SSI [Redcar steelworks] site”. |
| The steelworks closed two years ago with the loss of 3,000 jobs in a devastating blow to the region, which has suffered from decades of post-industrial decline. | |
| Anna Turley, Labour MP for Redcar, said: “This job will be a leading position overseeing the regeneration of the steelworks site. A big challenge that is crucial to bringing decent jobs to our area. Why on earth, then, is it based in London? With only occasional trips to Teesside? | Anna Turley, Labour MP for Redcar, said: “This job will be a leading position overseeing the regeneration of the steelworks site. A big challenge that is crucial to bringing decent jobs to our area. Why on earth, then, is it based in London? With only occasional trips to Teesside? |
| “It’s a sick joke when this site, and thousands of jobs, could have been saved if central government ministers and civil servants had acted in the first place.” | “It’s a sick joke when this site, and thousands of jobs, could have been saved if central government ministers and civil servants had acted in the first place.” |
| Turley said there were many talented candidates for the role in the Tees Valley and that it undermined the government’s stated commitment to devolution. | Turley said there were many talented candidates for the role in the Tees Valley and that it undermined the government’s stated commitment to devolution. |
| She added: “It makes me mad that so few of these posts are based outside of London. The people working on this project need to be here on the ground, not hidden away in an office in Whitehall. | She added: “It makes me mad that so few of these posts are based outside of London. The people working on this project need to be here on the ground, not hidden away in an office in Whitehall. |
| “So much for devolution. The Tees Valley Mayor should immediately take this up with his colleagues in government.” | “So much for devolution. The Tees Valley Mayor should immediately take this up with his colleagues in government.” |
| Mike Hill, the newly elected Labour MP for Hartlepool, added: “A job developing the Tees Valley should be based here, in the Tees Valley, with occasional trips to London and not the other way round. | Mike Hill, the newly elected Labour MP for Hartlepool, added: “A job developing the Tees Valley should be based here, in the Tees Valley, with occasional trips to London and not the other way round. |
| “This is typical of an attitude that suggests that only London can provide capable people for jobs such as these. It is shameful to find that Department for Communities and Local Government are perpetuating this fallacy. Isn’t ‘local government’ part of their title?” | “This is typical of an attitude that suggests that only London can provide capable people for jobs such as these. It is shameful to find that Department for Communities and Local Government are perpetuating this fallacy. Isn’t ‘local government’ part of their title?” |
| But the criticism provoked a strong response from Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, who was elected in May in what he described as a “political earthquake” in Labour’s heartlands. | But the criticism provoked a strong response from Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, who was elected in May in what he described as a “political earthquake” in Labour’s heartlands. |
| He accused Turley of being “out of touch” with his office’s plans for the SSI site and of trying to “jump on” a job advertisement for political gain. | He accused Turley of being “out of touch” with his office’s plans for the SSI site and of trying to “jump on” a job advertisement for political gain. |
| Houchen said: “This not a local appointment. This is a civil service position advertised by the Department for Communities and Local Government. I will always welcome additional dedicated staff in the heart of government working to transform the former SSI steelworks site. | Houchen said: “This not a local appointment. This is a civil service position advertised by the Department for Communities and Local Government. I will always welcome additional dedicated staff in the heart of government working to transform the former SSI steelworks site. |
| “The government is throwing more time, money and resources on the most significant economic opportunity for Redcar in decades. This follows a number of secondments from government, where they have already sent full-time staff to the Tees Valley to focus exclusively on this project. This is in addition to our own plans to recruit local staff internally, within the Mayoral Development Corporation. | “The government is throwing more time, money and resources on the most significant economic opportunity for Redcar in decades. This follows a number of secondments from government, where they have already sent full-time staff to the Tees Valley to focus exclusively on this project. This is in addition to our own plans to recruit local staff internally, within the Mayoral Development Corporation. |
| “It’s extremely concerning that the Kent-born MP for Redcar is trying to jump on the wording of a standard civil service job advert. It is even more worrying that she is so ignorant of the facts on the ground. It must be a real concern to the people of Redcar that their MP is so out of touch on our exciting plans for the old SSI site.” | “It’s extremely concerning that the Kent-born MP for Redcar is trying to jump on the wording of a standard civil service job advert. It is even more worrying that she is so ignorant of the facts on the ground. It must be a real concern to the people of Redcar that their MP is so out of touch on our exciting plans for the old SSI site.” |
| The Department for Communities and Local Government has been contacted for a request for comment. | The Department for Communities and Local Government has been contacted for a request for comment. |