Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of potential savings to his Department’s budget that will arise from the closure of its Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place other than by reduction in headcount.

Joseph Johnson

The proposed closure of the Sheffield office would result in permanent savings from reduced travel, rents and overnight accommodation. The Department estimates the current annual cost of these at £500k (travel), £890k (rent) and £150k (hotel stays). These savings would be independent of any decision on headcount reductions, on which we are still consulting. All savings would be net of any one-off transitional costs. There would also be non-cashable efficiency savings resulting from closer working, and more collaborative and flexible teams.