Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the Welsh Government of "treating taxpayers contemptuously" with its continued support of remote working. Nine out of 10 civil servants have carried on working from home in Wales since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A reply to a Freedom of Information Act request recently showed that 5,287 people are employed to work across the Welsh Government's 10 main offices, but the average number of staff working across all of those sites in September was 549. Rees-Mogg asked how Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford can justify his working-from-home stance when millions of pounds are being spent to retain the use of virtually empty office space.
The Tory MP for North Somerset, a leading voice in the Brexit campaign who as recently as December told a BBC Question Time audience British people should go on holiday to Portugal "if the Spanish don't want British custom", has long railed against home-working. He told the Telegraph: "Taxpayers' money ought to be used responsibly. Although it seems clear that working from home has led to lower quality public services, if for ideological reasons, the Welsh Government encourages working from home, it ought to reduce its office accommodation. Otherwise empty space is being rented, heated and lit pointlessly which is treating taxpayers contemptuously. It is the most expensive way of delivering poor service."
A spokesman for Mr Drakeford has previously said the Welsh Government remains committed to providing flexible working patterns for its people. The spokesman said: "Having the flexibility of office, remote and hybrid working brings benefits for local economies, businesses, individuals, and the environment. These flexibilities increase productivity, improve work life balance, and deliver less air and noise pollution. Our vision is to maximise the benefits of office, remote and hybrid working for our people and organisation. We want to support our staff to retain the benefits of remote-working while also enabling them to come together in an office environment to connect and collaborate in person."
