A former senior civil servant has called on the Welsh Government to close its Cardiff headquarters after first minister Eluned Morgan warned that offices will need to be shut if civil servants do not attend them more often.
Des Clifford, who was head of the Office of the First Minister in the Mark Drakeford and Carwyn Jones administrations, said the Welsh Government should close down its Cathays Park HQ, which he described as an "ugly and unfriendly building", and should set up a new office in Cardiff Bay so that the government and the Senedd are "side by side".
He told the BBC-produced news programme Newyddion S4C that this would provide "a greater opportunity for mixing between civil servants and government and the Senedd, which might, in certain ways, create a certain kind of coherence".
The Welsh Government is currently undertaking a review of its estate needs in the Powys region which is due to be concluded in September. Welsh ministers have set a target of civil servants attending offices for 40% of their working week, though unlike the UK government, there is no mandate.
Latest figures show daily average office attendance in the Welsh Government’s 20 offices was 16% in March, with Cathays Park attendance at 19%. The two Powys-based offices under review – Llandrindod Wells and Newtown – had an average attendance of 12% and 22% respectively.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions in the Senned last week,Morgan said the review was launched “partly because of the change in the way that people work, and we can't justify continuing to hold offices open if people don't turn up”.
She added: “It is important that we encourage people to come into work, we are encouraging them to come in, but clearly there will come a point where you have to say, ‘if you don't turn up, we cannot justify keeping this particular office open’.”
'Work is what you do, not where you do it'
Responding to Morgan’s comments, civil service unions told the BBC that they have no reason to believe the current arrangements are not working.
FDA national officer Jane Runeckles said: "Work is what you do, not where you do it. The world of work has changed, and the Welsh Government should take pride in the fact it has taken a leading role in this."
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS, said the current arrangements had been developed by the Welsh Government and “working in social partnership, and we have no reason to believe the current arrangements are not working”.
And Steve Thomas, Prospect deputy general secretary, said the hybrid approach “enables staff to work effectively, as millions of workers do across the public and private sectors”.
The Welsh Government’s State of the Estate report for 2023-24, published in May, says "offices remained underoccupied as staff continued to work remotely”.
It says the government has been increasing the amount of spaces allocated to public sector tenants to address the under-occupation, with more offices spaces being used as public sector hubs.
The report says a higher proportion of Welsh Government officials are working remotely “on a regular basis” and that “incorporating flexibility to accommodate policies and trends for more blended working patterns suggests a need for a different type of office space”.
But it says “financial constraints will nevertheless remain a key driver for decisions”.
The report says options to review the location of offices “will continue to include staff and trade unions in a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits, as opportunities arise”.
And it says: “There remains a commitment to an office estate dispersed across Wales, supporting a stronger, fairer economy, and enabling staff to work closer to, or at home.“