UK: Jacob Rees-Mogg, minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, has revealed plans to sell £1.5 billion worth of government premises in central London.
Rees-Mogg said he will publish a government property strategy next week, aimed at realising £2 billion in savings from property sales and efficiencies which will consolidate staff into fewer buildings as part of a network of government hubs.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: “We have seen over the last year that expensive office space in central London has been under-utilised. Why should the taxpayer be made to fork out for half-empty buildings?”
The sale of the London offices would cut the cost of the public estate so that the government could return money to the taxpayer, he said, adding: “All spending on government property needs to be justified.”
The announcement comes after a long-running campaign by Rees-Mogg to encourage civil servants to return to the office after coronavirus restrictions were scrapped.
The Civil service is relocating staff around the UK as part of the government’s “levelling up” agenda. In recent months 7,000 civil service roles have moved from London and the south-east, including 500 to Leeds and 250 to Sheffield.
The sales will represent around one per cent of the central government’s estate — which is valued at £150 billion and covers 150 million square metres. Ministers sold off £5 billion of property between 2015 and 2020. The new strategy does not set out in detail which buildings the government will seek to sell.
