Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the terms and conditions of civil servant contracts initiated after the COVID-19 pandemic specify (1) a location of work, or (2) the amount of time that civil servants must be present in an office location.

Decisions on flexible working requests are made locally by departments, based on their business needs and delivery requirements. As departments are individual employers they set out their employees’ terms and conditions, including any flexible working policies.

Ministers are clear that civil servants should be in the workplace where needed to drive delivery and they should adhere to their contractual obligations. Workplace attendance has an important role in effective service delivery to the public.

To deliver value for the taxpayer means ensuring we maximise the use of the estate and proactively manage workplace attendance. Therefore, in addition to the thousands of civil servants working in such places as prisons, courts and our UK borders, office-based workers will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of working time in the workplace.