Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff in her Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions her Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 24 October 2024, the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. If people do not meet that reasonable expectation, as with any management instruction, it should be dealt with via existing management processes and, ultimately, with disciplinary action should there be sustained failure to comply.
Decisions on the working arrangements within individual departments are delegated matters, but the department’s approach is aligned with this wider expectation and managers are empowered to address non-compliance through informal conversations or formal warnings depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue.
Data on average office occupancy is available on a quarterly basis at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff in her Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Flexible working arrangements are a core part of the Civil Service employment offer. These arrangements play a vital role in attracting top talent to government roles and support the delivery of high quality public services.
Whilst comprehensive data on all flexible working arrangements across the department is not currently available, the table below provides a snapshot of staff working part-time or compressed hours as at 31 August 2025.
Full-time employees | 5,588 | 68.6% |
Part-time employees | 1,351 | 16.6% |
Employees working compressed hours | 1,211 | 14.9% |
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Based on the information recorded centrally about working patterns, Defra can report that 13.5% of employees work compressed hours.
Additionally, working from home is a form of flexible working and almost all roles in Defra include some flexibility to work from home for up to 40% of their hours, in line with wider Civil Service policy.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions his Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 24 October 2024 the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time.
Occupancy rates in our London HQ are given in the published Civil Service Headquarters occupancy data.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of staff in his Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions his Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure employees are meeting the requirements, and no central data is held on this.
Line Managers are responsible for ensuring the requirements are met and taking steps to address any non-compliance, including consideration of disciplinary action should that be necessary.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions his Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department does not routinely issue sanctions for not meeting the office attendance expectation. However, where a staff member refuses a reasonable management instruction - such as attending the office when required - this may be addressed through the Department's disciplinary procedures, in line with established HR policy. Such cases are rare and typically resolved before formal action is considered.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As of July 2025, 6.2 per cent of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office UK-based staff have formal flexible working arrangements. These include part-time hours, job sharing, and compressed hours. The Department does not currently hold separate data on compressed hours, as flexible working is recorded using Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) metrics. Staff may work compressed hours informally, but such arrangements are not centrally tracked unless part of a formal agreement.
Informal compressed hours are typically agreed locally between staff and line managers, reflecting the Department's commitment to flexible working and alignment with Civil Service-wide practices that support work-life balance and operational needs.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff in her Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
21% of staff in DCMS have a flexible working arrangement - which represents 275 individuals. Of these, 138 (50%) work compressed hours.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department’s flexible working policy sets out the types of formal and informal flexible working available to our employees.
All eligible employees have a statutory right to request flexible working arrangements, including, for example, part time working and compressed hours.
In addition, some informal flexible working arrangements within the parameters of the policy are managed locally. Central information on the proportion of Departmental employees with flexible working arrangements is therefore not held.
Currently, there are 289 employees formally working compressed hours.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff in her Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions her Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department does not centrally record data on staff who do not meet our 60% office attendance expectation, this is managed locally by line managers.
Failure to meet a reasonable request from a line manager can result in a sanction under our disciplinary procedure for failing to follow a reasonable management request.