Department for Education: Staff

(asked on 10th May 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what staff attendance levels were in his Department’s offices in England for each month this year.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 17th 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.

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