Whitehall attendance slumps in spite of Labour's pledge to crack down on civil servants working from home
Working from home in the Whitehall Blob is making a comeback under Labour, despite its promises of a crackdown.
As a number of civil servants continue to shun returning to the office, attendances fell or remained static in more than half of government departments over the first three-month quarter of this year.
The Treasury and Home Office were among 11 of 20 departments where attendance failed to improve despite the faltering economy and record numbers of migrants arriving this year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves 's office had the worst attendance rate among major departments (63 per cent), despite having to compile next week's spending review – when brutal cuts to some departments will be announced.
Attendance also dropped at Bridget Phillipson's education Department (71 per cent to 67 per cent), which helped oversee a hike in VAT on private school fees, as well as at Home Secretary Yvette Cooper 's department (78 per cent to 76 per cent).
The departments where attendance rates lowered were the Northern Ireland Office, which fell from 65 per cent to 57 per cent, and the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, which plummeted from 81 per cent to 60 per cent.
While attendance improved in some, the average rate across all departments fell from above to below 75 per cent from January to March.
Meanwhile, between January 2024 and May 2024 – the months before the snap general election called by former Tory PM Rishi Sunak – attendance across Whitehall had an average of 77 per cent.
The appalling figures come despite Sir Keir Starmer hitting out at civil servants in December. He said: 'Too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline.'
He also pledged to increase public sector productivity after it dropped to 8.5 per cent lower than just before Covid-19. But critics said the latest analysis of official figures, carried out by the Mail, showed Labour was going soft on productivity.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: 'This Labour Government is not serious about delivering the reform the civil service so desperately needs.
'The last Conservative government had a plan to not only get civil servants back to the office, and increase productivity, but also to cut the bloated size overall – but Labour has totally failed to grip this issue or follow through.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: 'This Labour Government is not serious about delivering the reform the civil service so desperately needs. 'It is not surprising attendance rates are down when Labour supports lazy initiatives such as part-time work for full-time pay'
'It is not surprising attendance rates are down when Labour supports lazy initiatives such as part-time work for full-time pay.
'Taxpayers are being taken for a ride. Only Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives are serious about clamping down on this sort of nonsense.' William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, said: 'The last government had some success in its war of attrition to get bureaucrats back behind their desks.
'But instead of building on those efforts, Labour has taken its foot off the gas.
'Labour ministers need to realise that if they want civil servants delivering on their priorities they need them in their office.'
A Government spokesman said: 'Like at any organisation, small fluctuations in office occupancy can occur from month to month due to holiday, sickness or other events.'
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