Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department of Health and Social Care office at 39 Victoria Street.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has 2,114 civil servants assigned to 39 Victoria Street. 39 Victoria Street has 882 desks.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall, London.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)

It has been the practice of this and successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (2) desks, and (2) civil servants are assigned to the Department for Education office in the Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There are 1,023 desks and a range of shared working spaces available in Sanctuary Buildings. The number of civil servants from the Department for Education assigned to this office is 2,176.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Transport office at 33 Horseferry Road.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

As of 30th June 2026, there are: 1) 1,261 desks; and, 2) 2,180 civil servants assigned to the Department for Transport office at 33 Horseferry Road.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero office in 55 Whitehall.

Answered by Lord Whitehead

On 30 June 2026, 55 Whitehall and 3-8 Whitehall Place had 1104 desk work settings, and 2970 active civil servants as their contracted office location.

55 Whitehall and 3-8 Whitehall Place are two adjacent conjoined buildings that provide the main London office space for the Department.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport office in 100 Parliament Street.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As at 1 July 2026, DCMS has 380 desks with 752 staff members based in London. A 5:10 desk ratio is in line with government standards.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Work and Pensions office at Caxton House.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Below is the Department’s headcount and desks figure for DWP Caxton House London as of 30^th June 2026

Caxton House currently has 2,245 DWP colleagues and 1,395 desks.

This number of desks does not include alternative space where colleagues may work from through the day, including meeting rooms, collaboration areas, or privacy booths.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs office in 2 Marsham Street.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As of June 2026, Defra’s office at 2 Marsham Street provided 1,145 workstations and was the base location for 2,447 civil servants.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology office at 22–26 Whitehall.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

22-26 Whitehall has 825 desk work settings. The site is used by multiple Government departments, and official figures have not yet been updated following the creation of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

On 30 June 2026, 22-26 Whitehall had 998 active DSIT civil servants as their contracted office location.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the offices of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at King Charles Street.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I am advised by the Department that, based on the most recent occupancy and space-planning data available, there are 3,206 desks within the King Charles Street building.

Desk numbers are kept under regular review and may increase or decrease over time to reflect operational requirements, estate reconfiguration, and changing business needs. As such, the figure provided represents the most accurate position at the time of the latest assessment rather than a permanent fixed total.

In terms of headcount, the number of civil servants assigned to the offices of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at King Charles Street is 4,129.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government to ask His Majesty’s Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the HM Revenue and Customs office at 1 Horse Guards Road.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not have any desks or civil servants assigned to 1 Horse Guards Road.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants, broken down by department, are currently working under (1) flexitime, and (2) compressed hours arrangements; and what estimate they have made of the cost of administering these schemes.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This information is not held centrally.

Decisions on terms and conditions of employment, including flexible working, are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and the nature of the role.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the total combined cost of flexitime, compressed hours, overtime, Time Off in Lieu and paid volunteering leave across the civil service; and whether they have compared the prevalence of these schemes with equivalent arrangements in the private sector.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Decisions on pay and terms and conditions of employment are made by individual departments, depending on their specific business requirements. As such, the Cabinet Office does not collect this information centrally.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many days of paid volunteering leave were taken by civil servants in each of the last three years, broken down by department; and what the total cost of this type of leave has been in each of those years.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office does not collect or hold information across departments centrally.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average number of Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) days accrued and taken per civil servant in each of the last three years; and whether they monitor the operational cost of unworked TOIL hours across departments.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office does not collect or hold information across departments centrally.

Found: Lord Houchen of High Leven: I do slightly.