20 February 2013
Taxpayers are to save £62 million in a pioneering office move involving more hot-desking and flexible working by civil servants.
Some 500 officials at the Department for International Development are using laptops at shared desks after moving into a new “minimalist” HQ.
The move from offices near Buckingham Palace to an empty government block in Whitehall will save almost £10 million a year between now and 2020 in rent and overheads.
There will be seven desks for every 10 staff, and wi-fi and video conferencing are being used to cut journeys.
“We are maximising the use of space and most of the office will be paperless,” said Alan Duncan. the DfID minister.
“People in DfID travel a lot so it makes sense to do more hot desking.”
