Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

London weighting is paid to staff who have a Permanent Duty Station (PDS) in London. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates two London Weighting allowances, for Inner and Outer London. Staff who are contractual home workers do not have a London PDS and are therefore ineligible for London Weighting.

Flexible working arrangements enable Departments to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures the Civil Service can attract and retain a diversity of talent. “Future Workplace” is the MOD’s interpretation of the wider Government Smarter Working programme. As part of this approach MOD has developed hybrid working arrangements which typically require Civil Servants to spend 2-3 days in the office each week, and the option of 2-3 days working from home. This will be dependent upon the activity and outcomes to be delivered. All employees agree their working location with their local line management.

Details of Departmental headquarters’ occupancy are published on a regular basis and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data