Whitehall’s shift to WFH is here to stay says top mandarin
WHITEHALL’S working from home culture is ‘here to stay’, the head of the civil service insisted yesterday.
Simon Case told MPs that hybrid working – where officials divide their time between home and the office – was now ‘part of the system’.
The Cabinet Secretary suggested that home working could help in the transformation of the civil service needed as part of plans to reduce its headcount.
Boris Johnson wants to slash the number of civil servants by 20 per cent – 91,000 people – after numbers ballooned following Brexit and during the Covid pandemic.
Some ministers, including the government efficiences minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, have criticised the fact so many Whitehall officials are still working from home despite the end of the Covid crisis.
But Mr Case, appearing before the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee, stuck firm to his belief that home working could be appropriate.
He said: ‘Working from home has been part of the way the civil service has operated for the last decade or so.
‘I think it was when Francis Maude was minister in the Cabinet Office that it was part of our savings effort to reduce the cost to the taxpayer of the offices we were using.’
Mr Case was asked whether ministers were ‘out of touch’ on working practices – believed to be a reference to Mr ReesMogg’s campaign on the issue.
He said he would not comment on individual ministers, but added: ‘The government spends still very significant money on the estate for government. It’s absolutely vital we make the best use of taxpayers’ money.
‘The civil service does lots of things, including using technology. But it’s also a human organisation – there’s a real value in people spending time face to face. As Jacob ReesMogg said in an article he wrote, hybrid working is intended to be part of the system. So it is here to stay.’
In May, the Prime Minister revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that he wanted the size of the civil service to be slashed by a fifth.
Mr Case was asked whether it was right that this information had been disclosed first in a newspaper, given the sensitivities involved and the effect upon individuals.
In reply, he suggested that the way the news came out had been a ‘mistake’. He said: ‘These sorts of announcements create enormous uncertainty for our staff, and it’s vital... that whatever mistakes have been made in communication, there will be transparent communication with the civil service about this.
‘In fact, we need many civil servants to contribute to these processes about efficiency. I think the civil service has been struck – as I’ve gone round the country speaking to civil servants, this news has created real concern. Most of all they want to hear and be involved in the process. I’ve made it clear the communication will be open and transparent.’
Asked whether the Prime Minister’s interview had made his job more difficult, Mr Case said: ‘What I have to do is talk openly and honestly to the civil service about the challenges ahead and that’s what I am determined to do.’
Mr Case was also asked yesterday whether he believed the number of special advisers should be slashed, to which he replied: ‘I’m sure ministers will be very conscious of their obligations on leadership duties.’
‘It’s now part of the system’