State employees should work from home in order to cut tax payer costs, one MP has suggested.
Eric Pickles, Local Government secretary, has backed a report suggesting that the Treasury would save a substantial amount of costs on office rent if more state employees worked from home.
The study suggested that 'flexi-time' and home working could lower costs by as much as £15 billion a year. Furthermore, it predicted a cut in sickness levels and even an increase in productivity of up to 15 per cent.
Alternatively, the report suggested pooling space resources within an area to allow a reduction in space, while maintaining a central office environment.
If the government were to facilitate employees with the option of working from home, they would be joining a large number of British businesses that have already discovered the benefits of doing so.
Around a quarter of the British workforce 'sometimes' work from home, according to the Office for National Statistics, while almost three per cent 'mainly' work from home.
Mr Pickles said: "This report clearly shows how it is possible to deliver real savings and other benefits. The expertise is there, the experience is there – time to get on and do it." 
