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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances they intend to provide to open-access operators that existing access rights will remain sufficiently secure to support long-term investment in the purchase or leasing of trains.

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

We understand how important it is for Open Access operators to have the certainty to enable longer-term investment in rolling stock and their wider businesses. That is why Government has already committed, both in Parliament and in public consultation, to honouring all Schedule 5 access rights as set out in existing access contracts. We remain committed to this and continue to see an important role for Open Access in the future of the railway.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to preserve the duration and substantive operating rights of existing open-access agreements during the transition to Great British Railways; and in what circumstances they envisage departing from that approach.

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

The Government intends to preserve both the duration and the substantive Schedule 5 access rights contained in existing contracts through the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). The power at Clause 71 is not intended to revisit, reduce or extinguish those rights; rather, it is intended to ensure they continue to have practical effect within the new regime. That commitment was introduced in the Government's consultation on the Railways Bill, confirmed in the formal response, and reiterated throughout passage in both Houses. We do not envisage departing from that approach, recognising its importance for operators and for maintaining investor confidence in rolling stock and wider rail supply chains. Accordingly, no adverse impact on rolling stock investment or wider investor confidence is anticipated.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of uncertainty over future track access rights on rolling stock investment by open-access operators, including orders supporting employment at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe manufacturing facility and its supply chain.

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

The Government intends to preserve both the duration and the substantive Schedule 5 access rights contained in existing contracts through the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). The power at Clause 71 is not intended to revisit, reduce or extinguish those rights; rather, it is intended to ensure they continue to have practical effect within the new regime. That commitment was introduced in the Government's consultation on the Railways Bill, confirmed in the formal response, and reiterated throughout passage in both Houses. We do not envisage departing from that approach, recognising its importance for operators and for maintaining investor confidence in rolling stock and wider rail supply chains. Accordingly, no adverse impact on rolling stock investment or wider investor confidence is anticipated.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for investor confidence in the United Kingdom of the powers under clause 71 of the Railways Bill to amend or terminate existing access agreements.

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

The Government intends to preserve both the duration and the substantive Schedule 5 access rights contained in existing contracts through the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). The power at Clause 71 is not intended to revisit, reduce or extinguish those rights; rather, it is intended to ensure they continue to have practical effect within the new regime. That commitment was introduced in the Government's consultation on the Railways Bill, confirmed in the formal response, and reiterated throughout passage in both Houses. We do not envisage departing from that approach, recognising its importance for operators and for maintaining investor confidence in rolling stock and wider rail supply chains. Accordingly, no adverse impact on rolling stock investment or wider investor confidence is anticipated.

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