Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the civil service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 6 July 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on his Department's performance during June 2023.

The work of the Scotland Office is conducted in a number of different locations, be that at our London office; the UKG hub in Edinburgh; or engaging with stakeholders and communities across Scotland. Occupancy data for our London office is not an indicator of departmental performance. You can find out more about the work of the department and our delivery against our Priority Outcomes in our Annual Report.

The Scotland Office is committed to fully utilising the benefits of flexible working while ensuring that we use our buildings effectively and maximise the advantages of in-person collaboration. It should be noted that hybrid working arrangements are not new and the Scotland Office, like most departments, works on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff.

Occupancy data for our London office is published weekly on Gov.UK. The published data is for Departmental HQ buildings only and inferences about the wider workforce should not be made. The data does not capture employees working in other locations.