Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2026, to Question 14979, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Darlington, for what reason Darlington does not have a 60% office workplace expectation.

The Department does not currently apply a 60% workplace attendance expectation in Darlington due to office capacity and associated health and safety considerations. The Darlington office has 167 colleagues assigned to it, while 30 desks are contractually allocated for departmental use. Whilst colleagues may make use of other available workstations within the building, these are not guaranteed to be available. The current attendance expectation has therefore been set at a level that reflects the office's available capacity and ensures a safe working environment. The Department keeps attendance expectations under review and will consider changes where capacity permits.