Freedom of information request details
FOI request date:
The following information was requested:
This is a follow up to FOI_7552.
To enable the Public Accounts Committee and others to understand the extent to which public money on office accommodation and HCAS is supported by effective management and assurance, please provide the following information.
1. HCAS expenditure, pay band and department for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and limited to staff whose contractual base is 10 South Colonnade and who are eligible for London High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS):
For each month, please provide:
a. Headcount by Agenda for Change pay band (or equivalent) and by department/directorate.
b. Total HCAS paid, broken down by pay band and department/directorate.
c. Average HCAS per full–time equivalent (FTE), by pay band and department/directorate. As
at 20 November 2025 (the date cited in FOI_7552), please provide the number of staff with a
London/hybrid contract whose contractual base is 10 South Colonnade, broken down by pay
band and department/directorate.
This will allow Parliament to see how recurrent HCAS expenditure at 10SC is distributed by
seniority and function.
2. Attendance versus contractual expectation
Please provide copies of the policies, guidance and standard contractual wording setting out the minimum office attendance requirements for staff based at 10 South Colonnade on hybrid contracts (for example, “one day per week”), including any expectations placed on managers to assure compliance.
For the cohort defined in section 1 (10SC contractual base and HCAS–eligible) and the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and using whatever attendance monitoring systems you hold (e.g. pass swipes, desk bookings):
a. For each month, the number of distinct staff who attended 10SC at least once, by pay band and department/directorate.
b. For each month, the number of staff who met the contractual attendance requirement (for example, at least one day per week on average), by pay band and department/directorate.
c. For each month, the number of staff with zero recorded attendance at 10SC, by pay band and department/directorate.
d. A description of any limitations in the data (such as the exclusion of temporary passes or of swipes after a specified time, as noted in FOI_7552).
If you consider it is not possible to match attendance data to staff records (pay band, department, HCAS eligibility), please set out in detail what data is held and the legal or technical reasons why such matching cannot be undertaken, including reference to any data protection assessments.
3. Sickness, authorised absence and fair interpretation To ensure that non–attendance is not conflated with legitimate absence: For the same cohort and period, and for each month, please provide, broken down by pay band and department/directorate:
a. Total days of sickness absence.
b. Total days of other authorised absence (e.g. special leave, carers’ leave, study leave).
c. The number of staff with sickness absence of four weeks or more. Please explain whether, and how, sickness and other authorised absence are factored into any assessment of compliance with hybrid attendance requirements.
4. Management information, escalation and assurance Please provide any policies, procedures or guidance in force at any point since 1 April 2022 that describe:
a. How under–attendance or non–attendance against hybrid working requirements at 10 South Colonnade is monitored.
b. How such cases are escalated and addressed by managers, HR and senior leadership, including any sanctions or performance management processes. Since 1 April 2022, please provide copies of any regular reports, dashboards or other management information produced for senior managers that show hybrid attendance or utilisation of 10 South Colonnade, including any breakdown by department/directorate or pay band, where available. Since 1 April 2022, please provide copies of any papers, minutes or decisions considered by the Executive Team, Board or equivalent senior governance body in which:
a. low attendance or under–utilisation of 10 South Colonnade;
b. compliance or non–compliance with hybrid attendance requirements; or
c. the value for money of the 10SC lease and hybrid model
were discussed, together with any agreed remedial actions.
These materials will assist in assessing whether reasonable assurance has been taken over a significant and inflexible estate cost.
5. Value for money analysis of the lease Beyond the options appraisal undertaken prior to the move to 10 South Colonnade, have any analyses since 1 April 2024 examined:
a. average daily or weekly attendance at 10SC relative to the 168–desk capacity; and/or
b. the £1.7m lease and service cost expressed per average attendee, and per desk actually in regular use?
If so, please provide copies. If not, please confirm that no such analyses exist.
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