Nearly 500 members of the Government Legal Department are now working outside of London, according to its 2023-24 annual report, as one of the country’s largest legal services organisations continues to grow its national presence.

Becoming a ‘national GLD’ is one of the department’s three strategic ambitions over the next three years.

The GLD’s 2023-24 report reveals that as of March this year, 221 people were working at Wellington Place in Leeds, 104 people at Rivergate in Bristol, 78 at Three New Bailey in Salford and 68 at One Ruskin Square in Croydon.

‘This brings us to 12.3% of our workforce based outside London and the southeast, where 2,885 colleagues are based. This marks a significant increase in the percentage of colleagues working outside London and the southeast, over the last four years,' the report says. ‘The opening of these offices marked key milestones for GLD in becoming a truly national organisation, both in implementation of our Accommodation and Location Strategy and as part of the government’s Places for Growth programme.’

Having offices outside of London meant that, for the first time, students participating in a government legal profession diversity scheme last summer attended in multiple locations.

GLD chief Susanna McGibbon told the Gazette in April that she wanted staff ‘to know and feel they’re in GLD wherever they happen to sit’.

As previously reported, the GLD secured ministerial agreement for a ‘significantly enhanced’ offer for grades 6 and 7 lawyers. The annual report states that the offer, covering 2023-24 and 2024-25, uplifts pay by an average of 8% each year in addition to a cost-of-living payment in 2023-24. Capability-based pay has been introduced to improve retention and to provide clarity on standards and career progression.

‘While we had less success with our pay business case for cross-functional professionals, we were able to increase the available funds to recognise cross-functional professional performance in the 2023-24 year. We remain committed to improving our offer and this can be seen in our continued commitment to ensure we offer rewarding careers for all in our new strategy.’

The GLD's client satisfaction rating, at 95%, remained static. However, the average score dipped from 7.96 in in 2022-23 to 7.85 in 2023-24 (10 = excellent, good = 5, 0 = acceptable, -5 = poor, -10 = unacceptable). 

‘The survey has highlighted some issues that need to be addressed and actions are being taken in response,’ the report states.

 

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