A high-profile drive to move civil service jobs out of London has resulted in just 60 posts coming to Birmingham.

The relocation policy was a centrepiece of Gordon Brown's 2003 Budget.

The Chancellor announced that Sir Michael Lyons, the former Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council, had been appointed to review Whitehall departments and see how many positions could be transferred to the regions.

Mr Brown declared: "Public sector jobs transferred to regions and nations could exceed 20,000, to the benefit of the whole country."

Costs would fall, saving money for the taxpayer, and local economies would benefit, he said.

The cause was eagerly taken up by Birmingham City Council, which produced a 30-page glossy brochure listing "20 reasons to come to Birmingham", including low office costs and a blossoming cultural scene.

It suggested Baskerville House, the city centre Grade ll listed former council offices in Centenary Square, could be an ideal location for a Government department - creating thousands of jobs.

MPs suggested the Home Office could come to the city - because of its multi-cultural character - or the Department of Trade and Industry, reflecting Birmingham's industrial heritage.

And business leaders urged MPs to make bringing public sector jobs to Birmingham one of their two top priorities, along with improving transport links. But more than two and a half years on, just 6,347 jobs have been moved out of London.

And of these, only 60 have come to Birmingham.

Sir Michael has moved on to other things, and is currently chairing a separate review for the Treasury into the structure and funding of local government.

He was also appointed acting chairman of the public spending watchdog the Audit Commission earlier this week.

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Last night Conservative local government spokesman Caroline Spelman, MP for Meriden, said she was disappointed with the results of the review. "It hasn't lived up to the hype. The Government raised expectations, but hasn't delivered.

"It would have been good to have a higher allocation to the West Midlands, particularly as we have lost manufacturing jobs."

Another 132 jobs have come to the West Midlands, including 103 in Rugby and 29 in Worcester.

Wrexham has gained 551 jobs as a result of the review, Liverpool 503 and Blackpool 435. The biggest winner was Catterick, in Yorkshire, which gained 1,229 jobs.

The figures were revealed by Treasury Minister Des Browne in a written House of Commons answer. The only Government department to be radically changed following the Lyons Review was the Department for Work and Pensions. It has moved 3,069 jobs out of London.

About one third of the 700,000 staff employed by government departments, regulators and agencies are based in London and the South-east.

The average cost per workstation for Grade A office space in Birmingham is #9,049 a year, compared with #20,369 in London.

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