Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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 30th June 2026
Site Location | Employees | Total Desks |
LONDON DWP CAXTON HOUSE | 2,245 | 1,395 |
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) desks, and (2) civil servants, are assigned to the Department for Business and Trade office in the Old Admiralty Building.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has 1058 desks located within the Old Admiralty Building.
As of the end of June 2026 there are 3,699 civil servants assigned to the Old Admiralty Building.