Civil servants ‘get free rein’ to WFH

MINISTERS were accused of failing to pressure civil servants to go back to the office last night after Downing Street refused to set targets for their return.

No10 said there were ‘no plans’ to impose firm targets – despite doing so last year. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office admitted it was not keeping track of the numbers of staff who had returned.

It comes just a week after Boris Johnson urged the country to ditch home working in his Tory conference speech. His spokesman said: ‘We are seeing a steady return of civil servants to inoffice working. That’s what we would expect... in the private sector as well.’

Asked if targets would be set, he said: ‘No plans for any targets.’ He added it was for individual departments to monitor how many returned to the office.

In September last year, the highestranking civil service officials wrote to department heads to ask them to get staff back to their desks. They called for an 80 per cent return, with staff coming in on different days of the week.

Official work-from-home guidance was removed on July 19 and the Government encouraged staff to gradually return over summer. The Cabinet Office said collecting data on how many staff are back would put a ‘significant and unnecessary strain’ on resources.

It came as No10 defended Mr Johnson’s ‘babymoon’ with his pregnant wife Carrie and son Wilf in Marbella.

UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said it was a bad time to leave Downing Street, with the energy crisis threatening to shut down industry. However, No10 said the PM continued to work from his luxury villa.