Jacob Rees-Mogg, the government’s minister of efficiency, has written to all foreign ministers saying they should send a “clear message” to officials about ending the work-from-home culture and urging them to ensure that the offices financed by the taxpayers are in “maximum capacity”. On Monday night, Whitehall sources blamed civil servants who refused to return to office for not “pulling their weight,” adding that the Covid pandemic could no longer be used as an excuse to stay away from the workplace. Efforts to bring civil servants back to office have been thwarted by unions pushing for more flexible work-related concessions. Mr Rees-Mogg wrote: “Now that we are learning to live with Covid and we have lifted all legal restrictions in England, we must continue to accelerate the return of civil servants to office buildings to realize its benefits face to face. collective labor and the wider benefits for the economy. “To put it this way, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I urge you to send a clear message to the civil servants of your department to ensure a speedy return to office.” Mr Rees-Mogg sent ministers a league table showing how many employees from each government department went to the office on average during the week beginning April 4. The Ministry of Education did worse, with 25 percent of staff going on average every day, with the rest working remotely. It was followed by the Ministry of Labor and Pensions, where 27 percent entered the office and the Office of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development, where 31 percent entered. Meanwhile, the Ministry of International Trade had the largest number of people in office that week, at 73 percent, followed by the Ministry of Health with 72 percent and the Rees-Mogg Division, the Council of Ministers, with 69 percent. a hundred. The Ministry of Education noted that the week of April 4 was not representative of its usual presence in the office, as Parliament was on holiday and many schools and colleges were closed – meaning that more staff than usual were on leave.
