Gove: Civil Service flexible working key to levelling-up agenda

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has confirmed that remote working in the Civil Service will be a lever to enable the Government's 'Levelling-Up' agenda.

Hybrid remote and office-based working will be "crucial to delivering on our mission to be a Government more like the country we serve, with more officials and as importantly ministers outside of London, and great career prospects regardless of where you work."

Gove referred to the role of remote working in a letter this week to FDA General Secretary Dave Penman, confirming that contrary to recent press reports the Government viewed remote working as part of the longterm plan for Civil Service working patterns, even as he commended "a cautious and gradual approach to returning staff safely to their normal places of work".

The FDA is the trade union for senior and middle management civil servants and public service professionals, and was formerly known as the Association of First Division Civil Servants.

Gove said that Civil Servants working from home had "pioneered new ways of working in order to continue to serve ministers and the public during the pandemic" and noted that these new approaches had enabled Government to respond rapidly and keep going.

There had been "important learning" about the role of technology in providing a vital backup, and this would be taken into account as the Government sought to take advantage of "the benefits of home and office working".