Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the answer of 23 July 2026 to Question HL1906 on Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Buildings, what is the policy of the (a) Government Property Agency and (b) Office for Government Property on the recommended staff: desk ratio, and what are the government standards referenced in that answer.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) and the Office for Government Property (OGP) work closely to ensure the government estate is efficient, sustainable, and fit for purpose.

(a) In respect of the Government Property Agency (GPA), there is no prescribed policy dictating a mandatory staff-to-desk ratio. Instead, the GPA utilises the Architecture Handbook (an annex of the Government Workplace Design Guide) that provides guidance for designers. Rather than strict policy, the handbook provides guidance regarding the ratio of desks and other workpoints. Implementation relies heavily on individual building configurations and department working styles to determine the appropriate provision of workpoints in a given building/project.

It should be noted that this guidance applies primarily to new-build projects or significant refurbishments. In the case of the GPA’s inherited estate, the GPA inherits and maintains the existing workplace arrangements of the client department until such time as a significant refurbishment is undertaken.

The GPA does not dictate workspace usage ratios to its client departments; workspace design is delivered in collaboration with client departments and workpoint allocation is determined based on ways-of-working and occupancy ratios.

(b) Within government functional standard GovS 004, Property, there is no stated policy in respect to space utilisation in the office estate portfolio. Space utilisation in the government office portfolio was previously managed towards a target of no more than 8 sqm per person (FTE). Space standards are set out in the Government Workplace Design Guide and are more flexible, with an emphasis on productivity, environmental quality and suitability for changing work patterns.