The hottest day of the year is likely to be on Saturday as a heat wave hits London. Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
About 20 percent of civil servants in Whitehall's three departments were in the office on one of the hottest days of the year.
On Wednesday, temperatures peaked at 32°C (89.6F ). Kew Gardens, west London, which is just 0.2 degrees below the highest temperature recorded in 2023. The peak makes this September day the hottest since 2016.
On Wednesday morning, The Telegraph noticed about 884 civil servants entering. 2 Marsham Street, home to the Department of the Interior, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department of Equalization, Housing and Communities.
Freedom of Information Request by Sky News in last year showed that 2012 desks were allocated to the Ministry of the Interior, 1145 desks were allocated to Defra and 1170 were allocated to level up, for a total of 4327.
This means that only one in five employees could work in the office on Wednesday , not remotely, judging by the number of people arriving at work.
The latest government-released departmental occupancy data for the week beginning August 21 showed that 51 percent of employees worked at the Defra office, 49 percent worked at the Home Office office, and 62 percent of employees worked at the Defra office. cent worked in the Department of Advanced Studies.
New leadership
Last week, The Telegraph reported that Downing Street was set to release new guidance for all government departments as part of the work-from-home crackdown that sees a 'Tuesday to Thursday' office culture in the public service.
Under the leadership of Jeremy Quin, Treasurer General, a campaign will be launched to increase public sector productivity and crack down on decisions made from home on an ad hoc basis.
Mr Quin said he was concerned that working in Whitehall home was treated informally, and he believes that most employees work better in the office than at home.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review of public sector productivity to try to boost it by at least 0.5 per cent a year after new data showed civil service wages have risen and the number of people earning more than £100,000 a year almost doubled.
The Telegraph also reported that about 95 percent of HM Revenue and Customs are working remotely for at least one day of the workweek, more than during the first national lockdown due to the pandemic.
More High temperatures could also have an indirect impact on school attendance, as the government's preferred candidate for new Chief Inspector Ofsted told MPs on Tuesday that «fine weather» would result in more students not going to school.
< p> The Met Office added that the September heat wave is likely to peak on Saturday, when temperatures in London rise to 33°C.
It will likely be the hottest day of the year, though cooler farther north, exceeding the previous set point of 32.2°C in June, with the UK Health Safety Agency issuing an amber heat warning before 21:00 Sunday.
Weather impacts are likely to be felt across all health services: people over the age of 65 or those with pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular conditions are at greater risk.
While the temperature rose so high in September, it is unusual that the heat lasts so long: the Met Office predicts temperatures in some areas for five to six days above 30C.
Tropical nights
Tropical nights are also possible in the south nights, defined as temperatures above 30C. Temperatures will hit 20°C and Wednesday and Thursday nights threaten to break September's overnight record of 21.7°C.
The heat wave is driven by tropical storms that push a high pressure system over the UK, with a jet stream has moved to the north and is flexing into the so-called omega lockdown model.
A government spokesman said: “There is agreement within government on the clear benefits of face-to-face collaboration, and departments remain committed to employees coming to work for this. places.
«We make sure that the buildings are used in a way that gives the best value for money.»
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