Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of staff are based in each of his Department’s offices in England as of 10 May 2022.
The department operates from 12 locations, spread across the country. The total number of operational desks is 4,525.
Site | Desks (as at 6 May 2022) |
London | 1,425* |
Sheffield | 790 |
Coventry | 1,113 |
Darlington | 272 |
Manchester | 500 |
Nottingham | 164 |
Bristol | 95 |
Watford | 24 |
Newcastle | 36 |
Cambridge | 42 |
Croydon | 40 |
Leeds | 24 |
Totals | 4,525 |
*Desk capacity for London has since been reduced to 1,100, which reflects the capacity at the site for department staff once planned tenants occupy the building.
There are 8,009 full time equivalent (FTE) employed by the department. This includes a number of remote workers who regularly attend other ‘work settings’ as part of their role, for example schools, colleges and learning providers.
Site | FTE (as at 6 May 2022) |
London | 2,268 |
Sheffield | 1,489 |
Coventry | 1,257 |
Darlington | 768 |
Manchester | 1,249 |
Nottingham | 343 |
Bristol | 299 |
Watford | 23 |
Newcastle | 120 |
Cambridge | 35 |
Croydon | 48 |
Leeds | 110 |
Totals | 8,009 |
The department has introduced a policy of hybrid working to capture the benefits of both remote working and office attendance.
Since January 2022, attendance numbers have steadily increased, as staff have settled into hybrid working patterns. The vast majority of staff are now regularly attending their designated office.
The current average daily occupancy, across all 12 offices, is circa 60 to 70%. This is similar to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.