Whitehall staff not called into office as it is ‘impolite’

ALLOWING civil servants to work from home is “less impolite” than ordering them to the office, a minister has said.

Staff in the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) are working remotely despite pressure from Jacob Rees-mogg, the minister for government efficiency, to have Whitehall officials return to the office.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, the arts minister, told MPS on the DCMS select committee that “if somebody is coming down to see me from Tyneside or Merseyside, I feel less impolite having a digital meeting that they can do at their convenience from their desk,” than asking them to come to Whitehall.

His comments echo the views of Nadine Dorries, who was reported to have branded the return to work policies “Dickensian”.