PM agrees with Mogg’s plans to crackdown on Whitehall WFH

The prime minister’s official spokesman has said No 10 are in step with the Brexit opportunities minister’s plans to encourage in-person working for civil servants.

“Cabinet were updated by the minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency on figures showing the proportion of civil servants working in departments,” the spokesman told journalists this afternoon.

“He said face to face working provided clear benefits both to staff and to the public and that it was important all departments took action to return to the pre-pandemic position of full occupancy. The prime minister agreed and encouraged ministers and their departments to do everything possible to speed up the return of more civil servants into the office.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who also serves as minister for government efficiency, wrote to all secretaries of state on 13 April to demand they communicate a “clear message” to civil servants about cracking down on work from home (WFH) culture.

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said that he thought over half of his office’s staff are now back to the office, telling LBC Radio: “I think in Belfast it is high. I would expect it to be over 50 per cent, but as I say, my staff are split and this is based on London office space. My staff work in a different way but they are back in the office and we are seeing more and more people coming back in.”

“I support the work Jacob Rees-Mogg is doing to see more people back in the office. I think it is a good thing, he went on.

Rees-Mogg also forwarded a league table of civil service office attendance from the week beginning on 4 April. The figures showed that across some departments the average of in-office staff was below one-third on a typical day.

He also stressed that he would be visiting departments with higher WFH figures in order to “ensure we are making efficient use of the central London estate”.