Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Within the MOD, there are three types of flexible working arrangements: Informal, and Formal Flexible Working, and the Flexible Working Hours (FWH) Scheme. The number of staff with Informal Flexible Working arrangements and on the FWH scheme is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
As at 31 August 2025, 69.7% of staff work full time, and 30.3% of staff have flexible or part time working arrangements as detailed in the table below. Please note this data is for the Core Workforce only and includes MOD Main, Defence Equipment and Support and the Submarine Delivery Agency.
Work Schedule Grouping | Total | Percent |
Full Time | 34,536 | 69.7 |
Part Time | 5,116 | 10.3 |
Compressed | 4,467 | 9.0 |
Shift Work | 5,236 | 10.6 |
Term Time | 187 | 0.4 |
Grand Total | 49,542 | 100.0 |
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff in his Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions his Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The number of staff who did not meet the minimum office attendance target is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Local leadership is actively managing engagement and compliance on office attendance/ working remotely and has reported that compliance with the 60 percent attendance target is being met or exceeded where impediments such as restrictions on car parking and desk space are not prevalent; this has been done in line with, and supported by, HR policy, guidance, and management communications.
Non-compliance of the 60 percent attendance target is managed by local leadership through Performance Management measures or Misconduct and Discipline procedures.
MOD Main Building (MOD’s HQ) is routinely published in Civil Service HQ occupancy data on GOV.UK. Main Building total occupancy for June 2025 was 87%.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are any requirements for civil servants to book a desk in advance in order to attend the office in person in each of (a) their Department's office workplaces and (b) the arm’s length bodies of their Department.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Advance desk reservations are encouraged to secure appropriate workspace within Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Building. Desk booking services for the wider MOD including arm’s length bodies are not centrally held and would come at disproportionate cost to the Department in producing this information.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 9611 on Ministry of Defence: Buildings, how many individual desks were occupied in his Department’s HQ office in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in his Department since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Maria Eagle
There has been no expenditure on new furniture and fittings, or other refurbishment of the Ministerial offices in Ministry of Defence Main Building since the dissolution of the last Parliament on 30 May 2024.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of his Department's offices; and how many desks are available in each office.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The information to answer the hon. Member's question in full could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
However, as of 1 April 2024, there was a total of 4,069 Full Time Equivalent Ministry of Defence (MOD) staff working at Main Building. Full Time Equivalence is a figure that allows part-time workers’ hours to be put into the same units as full-time workers. Please note this figure includes all employees in MOD and the four Executive Agencies, alongside Military personnel – it does not include Contractor staff or visitors.
There are 3,802 workplaces for use in MOD Main Building.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of desks were occupied in each of his Department’s offices in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff attended each office in person in the same period.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data