Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who his Department consulted at Cheshire East Council before approving the decision to move the Information Commissioner's Office from Wilmslow to Manchester.

Cabinet Office approval for this property transaction comes under National Property Controls in the Office of Government Property. The value threshold meant that approval was taken at official level.

The decision to move was made by the Information Commissioner’s Office, itself, on analysis based upon HM Treasury’s Green Book principles. The move will lead to a reduction of office space and the overall rent payable. National Property Controls were satisfied by the property rationale for the move to the proposed building. It would be a matter for ICO to decide on what wider consultation on the relocation was appropriate.