A range of technology is set to be deployed to support flexible working practices among government staff around the UK, it has been revealed.

Telecoms company Global Crossing has been enlisted to set up a Siemens unified communications solution that will allow government staff to operate either from their own homes or wherever their work requires them to be.

And the benefits of the system are likely to extend to helping the environment, given the video and web conferencing applications that will reduce the amount of commutes government workers need to make, Global Crossing explains.

"With this initiative, government is breaking new ground by adopting a uniquely flexible, ‘secure communications anywhere’ IP-based managed solution," said Anthony Christie, Global Crossing’s managing director in the UK and Europe.

He added that the solutions will help in "reducing infrastructure costs" and in "ensuring staff can work effectively as they deliver high-quality public services wherever they are located".

Meanwhile, the Work Wise UK is convinced that promoting home-based working could have a significant impact on tackling the problem of congestion on British roads.