Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.

As was the case under the last government, the intended use of equipment purchased by civil servants is not recorded at the point of a purchase requisition being raised. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, although the new Government is looking for ways to tighten up any potential waste in this area. Although that will of course not be sufficient in the long-term, it is still treats public money with more respect than previous Conservative administrations did.

Additionally, since the change of Government, Defra has agreed that a 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.