‘Not enough office space’ if working from home ends

A return-to-office policy for the civil service would not be possible because there is no longer enough space to accommodate everyone, Stormont assembly members have been told.

Many civil servants began working from home during the pandemic, a trend which has continued.

The NI Civil Service (NICS) is in the process of reducing its office estate by 40% by selling buildings and ending leases.

Sharon Smyth, chief executive of construction and procurement delivery at the Department of Finance, said that four-year process was on track.

She told Stormont’s finance committee there was currently sufficient office space for civil servants but that would not be the case if there was a widespread return to office-based working.

If the policy was “everyone’s coming back four days a week” then “we wouldn’t have the space, we wouldn’t have the physical accommodation to do that,” she added.

Ms Smyth said a review of the NICS hybrid working and working-from-home policies is due to be published imminently.

She also revealed the sale of one of the biggest NICS offices had not been completed despite going sale agreed last year.

Clarence Court in Belfast City Centre is the former HQ of the Department of Infrastructure.

Ms Smyth said it would be put back on the market shortly and the current bidder remains interested.

She also told assembly members a decision was expected by the end of July on whether Marlborough House in Craigavon would be listed.

The 1970s office block is due to be vacated by civil servants and a listing could complicate efforts to find a new use for the site.