LIVERPOOL will be a magnet for the further dispersal of Civil Service jobs from London, ministerial sources signalled after Alistair Darling’s make-or-break pre-election Budget.

The Chancellor revealed that up to 1,000 ministry of justice jobs will be relocated over the next five years to save £41m as part of his bid to slash the deficit.

The city’s Pall Mall financial district swiftly emerged as the front-runner due to a package already put in place by the six Merseyside councils, Liverpool Vision and Liverpool Enterprise.

Such a move would act as a springboard to create a Civil Service “campus” which could draw a share of 15,000 Whitehall relocations promised by Mr Darling, leading on to the dispersal of up to a third of the entire Civil Service machine.

North West minister Phil Woolas confirmed that intensive negotiations are well under way.

“We are working closely to put together a proposition to secure such a campus in and around Old Hall Street,” he said.

“Merseyside is a very attractive proposition with the infrastructure in place, a feel-good factor and, let’s be honest, cheaper property pricing.”

Merseyside will face stiff competition from Manchester which is building its own civil service-friendly scheme at Mayfield.

A recent review praised the proposals for offices capable of supporting 3,500 posts.

But that endorsement will be seen as a useful “template” for Pall Mall.

Government whip Dave Watts, MP for St Helens North, said: “Given the choice between the expense of living and working in London and the vibrant lifestyle we have here, civil servants should be ready to make the move.”

Liverpool/Bootle is already the top northern beneficiary of the dispersal programme announced by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor, with 1,922 Revenue, Home Office, Passport service and Ministry of Defence posts relocated.

That compares to 1,364 in Greater Manchester out of 6,900 across the North West.

Civil service posts, ranging from middle-income secretarial staff to six-figure salary mandarins, have a higher impact on the overall regional economy than industrial jobs.

Justice minister Maria Eagle has been kept out of negotiations because her Liverpool Garston seat creates a potential “conflict of interest”.

But Justice Secretary Jack Straw said that the dispersal plan was an “excellent” way of making efficiency savings while protecting front line services.