Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the Civil Service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 1 June 2022, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on his Department's performance during May 2023.

The work of the Scotland Office is conducted in a number of different locations, be that at our London office; the UKG hub in Edinburgh; or engaging with stakeholders and communities across Scotland. Occupancy data for our London office is not an indicator of departmental performance. You can find out more about the work of the department and our delivery against our Priority Outcomes in our Annual Report.

The Scotland Office is committed to fully utilising the benefits of flexible working while ensuring that we use our buildings effectively and maximise the advantages of in-person collaboration. Occupancy data for our London office is published weekly on Gov.UK.

It should be noted that hybrid working arrangements are not new and the Scotland Office, like most departments, works on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff. No office will operate at 100% occupancy given there will always be a number of reasons why staff may be out of the office, for example, people being on annual leave, attending meetings off-site or external visits.