Only half of DfE civil servants were in office as schools concrete crisis unfolded

Just half of civil servants at the Department for Education were at their desks as the schools concrete crisis unfolded, new figures have shown.

Official statistics revealed that 49 per cent of officials were working from home when the news broke that hundreds of classrooms would have to close.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesman distanced the Prime Minister from the absences, insisting that he “firmly believes in the importance of in-office working”.

The Government published working from home numbers on Thursday, which showed that on average 51 per cent of staff were in the office at the DfE last week. Attendance will have been impacted by the bank holiday Monday, but seven other departments had more officials at their desks.

The statistics also show that almost half of mandarins were working from home the week before, despite mounting concern about unsafe concrete in schools.

At the same time, Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, was also absent as she spent Aug 25-31 on holiday with her family in Spain. She returned last Thursday, the same day that her department ordered the closure of more than 100 schools.

Asked about the low attendance rates at the DfE, Mr Sunak’s spokesman said  in-office working was “vital… to help deliver high-quality services for taxpayers”, adding: “We are tracking this information and making it transparent as part of our work to increase occupancy, with the caveat that flexible working is an important part of any modern life.

“There are teams in DfE working around the clock on this to provide reassurance to parents, to get the data out and to contact schools that have not yet responded to their surveys, and they are working very hard on that. But obviously we know there is more to do to encourage people back into the office.”

The revelations will infuriate Tory MPs who have been frustrated that repeated attempts to get more mandarins back to the office have failed.

Jeremy Quin, the Paymaster General, is working on plans to crack down on the culture of working from home within the Civil Service. He has previously expressed concerns that the trend is leading to lower productivity in Whitehall and a poorer outcome for taxpayers.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Cabinet minister, said: “No wonder the Education Secretary was so aerated about others slacking and doing all the work herself when half the civil servants were absent.”

The DfE has been contacted for comment.