Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 28 April (HL7750), whether they will now answer the question with the details requested, namely, in respect of the principal offices of each government department located in central London, (1) what temperature the offices are heated to during working hours in winter, and (2) what assessment they have made of the advantages and disadvantages of reducing that temperature by 2°C.

With respect to part 1 of the question, Government Property Agency (GPA) managed offices located in central London are heated to 22°C with a ± 2°C tolerance.

With respect to buildings which GPA does not manage, the individual departments are responsible and it would be for them to respond.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set requirements for most aspects of the working environment. Regulation 7 deals specifically with the temperature in indoor workplaces and states “during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable”. The reasonableness of the temperature is dependent on the work activity being conducted.

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approved code of practice and guidance (L24) advises the minimum temperature for a workplace should normally be at least 16°C

With respect to part 2 of the question, the temperature of an office floor plate is not uniform. There will be areas which when heated to 22°C with a ± 2°C tolerance will be at the lower end of the spectrum. In naturally ventilated buildings, ventilation is provided by the controlled opening of windows by the occupants. This means that from time to time temperatures are likely to dip lower than the noted threshold.

Reducing nominal temperatures by 2°C moves GPA into an operational band of 18-22°C, which, if windows are open could risk falling close to the lower threshold of 16°C.