Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Plans to sell £1.5bn of UK government buildings based on ‘fantasy’

Plans to sell £1.5bn of UK government buildings based on ‘fantasy’

Jacob Rees-Mogg accused of pursuing agenda of ‘punishing civil servants who work from home’
Plans to sell off £1.5bn worth of government-owned buildings are based on “fantasy” job cuts to the civil service and ignore the role of hybrid working, critics have said.

They took aim at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s crackdown on what he called “under-utilised” property, under which the number of offices operating at the heart of Westminster would more than halved.

The Brexit opportunities minister said the move would deliver “more efficient, more effective and smaller government” and save taxpayers’ money, given the “challenging fiscal context”.

While the number of government offices in central London has already been cut significantly since 2018, from 63 to 36, a strategy published on Wednesday said ministers would “consolidate further with only 16 buildings to remain in and around Whitehall” by 2025 – fewer than the 23 government departments.

About £1.5bn will be recouped, the Cabinet Office estimated. The figure is less than 1% of the £157bn estimated value of the government estate, which includes prisons, courts, schools and museums, as well as hospitals and health surgeries, job centres and military bases across the UK.

A further £500m is hoped to be saved by cutting operating costs and spending on leases, as well as changing building materials and energy sources.

Fewer officials will need office space in London given the target to move 22,000 roles and 50% of senior civil service roles out of Greater London by 2030, the Cabinet Office said.

Government buildings will also have to follow revised guidance for public toilets, which is being changed to discourage “gender neutral” ones and instead keep facilities separate for men and women.

Mike Clancy, the general secretary of the civil service union Prospect, said a well-informed plan to improve efficiency of government-owned buildings and slash emissions would have been welcome, but added: “This is not it.”

He pointed to the promised near-20% cut to civil service jobs. The government has yet to announce which of its 91,000 roles are likely to go, and faces the threat of legal action over attempts to limit the size of redundancy payouts.

Clancy said: “What we have here is a fantasy target of estate reduction, based on a fantasy target of headcount reduction with no plan to deliver it.”

The is a “real danger that in closing smaller properties embedded in communities, in the name of efficiency, you make it much harder for people to access face-to-face services”, he said, adding that the strategy was “shortsighted” and ideological.

The Cabinet Office said it was unable to reveal the list of buildings it planned to sell to raise £1.5bn because of commercial reasons. When the final sites are identified, staff working in them will be informed first about where they are to be relocated.

Rees-Mogg has piled pressure on civil servants to reduce remote working and work more in offices, doing spot checks of some departments and even leaving notes on several empty desks.

However, the document released on Wednesday made no mention of retaining flexible working. This is in contrast with the Government Property Agency’s strategy for the 2020s, which found: “In most cases desk-based work can be done effectively at home.”

Jordan Urban, a researcher for the Institute for Government, a thinktank, said: “Given the rise of hybrid work and its potential impact on the requirements of the government estate, it is strange that it is not mentioned once in the strategy.”

He added that while seeking a more efficient estate was sensible, “a smaller one may run contrary to the government’s intention for civil servants to return to the office more often, given that in some departments there are already notable constraints on the amount of space available for in-person work”.

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, also said Rees-Mogg was pursuing an agenda of “punishing” civil servants who worked from home, adding: “We’ll insist any office closures result not in job losses but in flexible working instead.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
Senate Democrats Move to Censure Trump Over Qatar Jet Gift
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
×