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 8 September 2026, to Question 23973, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, why the average presence in the 17 venues is less than the 50% office attendance expectation, and what steps are being taken to help tackle this.

The Department expects colleagues to attend the office 50% of the time, except in four of our offices where attendance is capped at 40% due to capacity constraints. Once these capacity limits, agreed attendance exceptions and periods of leave are taken into account, our overall attendance target for July to September 2026 was 37%. During that quarter, we achieved 36% attendance, just one percentage point below the adjusted target.

The Department has clear guidance in place setting out office attendance expectations and regularly monitors office attendance for its employees as well as capacity utilisation. We are continuing to work collectively to support consistent application of the policy and to ensure that all staff benefit from the collaboration and learning opportunities that face-to-face working provides.