Regulator moves to new government hub

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency leaves Westminster for Canary Wharf


The East London Property Hub at Canary Wharf Credit: Government Property Unit

By Jim Dunton

18 Jun 2018

The new government hub at Canary Wharf, in east London, has added the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to its roster of tenants relocating from Westminster.

The Government Property Unit agreed a 15-year lease on the 10 South Colonnade building in 2016, debuting the former Barclays Capital base as its East London Office Hub capable of housing more than 5,000 staff.

From 18 June, the MHRA moved into the building from its former home at 151 Buckingham Palace Road, in Westminster.


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The MHRA said its regulatory centre, including the British Pharmacopeia, would be making the move, along with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

However it said members of staff working for the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control would be staying at their current location in South Mimms, Hertfordshire.

MHRA licensing director Siu Ping Lam said securing “new, modern accommodation in a London location” had been important for both staff and stakeholders.

According to its annual report for 2016-17, MHRA had arounds 1,250 full-time equivalent staff.

HM Revenue & Customs was one of the first central-government employers to reveal its intention to take space at 10 South Colonnade.

But the tax-collection agency has come under fire from MPs for its wider hubs programme in recent months. 

In January, MPs on parliament’s Public Accounts Committee voiced concerns about its ability to get value for money from the programme to close 170 regional offices and relocate staff to 13 regional hubs.

 

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