MSN
Office attendance by civil servants at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has plummeted since Labour’s general election victory, Government data has revealed.
In July, when Sir Keir Starmer‘s party returned to power after 14 years in opposition, 82 per cent of desks were occupied at the department’s headquarters in Westminster.
But this fell to 59 per cent in August and 57 per cent in September, according to monthly average building occupancy data published by the Cabinet Office.
At the same time, the MoJ was grappling with a prisons crisis which saw thousands of criminals – including convicted killers – released early in a bid to tackle jail overcrowding.
The publication of occupancy data for Whitehall buildings was paused during the general election campaign.
In the first three weeks of May, the proportion of desks occupied at the MoJ’s main building was 66 per cent, 85 per cent, and 78 per cent, respectively.
Civil servants are supposed to spend at least three days a week in the office under Whitehall rules on working from home.
Following the election, newly-appointed Labour ministers were reportedly ignoring the rules in a ‘less dogmatic’ approach towards staff than under the previous Tory government.
But Whitehall chiefs made a fresh commitment to the 60 per cent target at the end of October after deciding the guidance should not change.
