Options for accommodating the excess are being considered

1.27  In 2000, the preferred bidder was invited to provide for an additional 500 staff in the new building, resulting in a maximum capacity of 3450. Further expansion of 2 Marsham Street was not possible because of Westminster City Council's site restrictions and the Home Office considered that it would not be possible to find alternative accommodation capable of housing all core Home Office and Prison Service staff. At financial close, the Home Office expected to require additional accommodation for 750 staff. Current projections for 2005 are subject to review but it is unlikely that it will be possible to house all Home Office headquarters staff, including those employed by the Prison Service, in 2 Marsham Street as originally planned.

1.28  The Home Office has not yet reached a decision on how any excess will be accommodated. There are no firm proposals at present but various options are being investigated. The Home Office is progressing two initiatives intended to ensure staff numbers in central London are no larger than necessary. It is carrying out an efficiency study into the size of its headquarters and also contributing to the Lyons Review4 on relocation of Government jobs out of London and the South-East. The Home Office expects that the results of these two studies will enable it to make final decisions on who occupies 2 Marsham Street by no later than mid-2004. Its view is that it needs to achieve an appropriate balance between having flexibility to accommodate increases in numbers and having too much space for too long. Over a 26 year contract, there is a possibility of staff reductions and of more flexible working allowing more staff to be based in a building than there are workstations or desks. At present, however, space per person in 2 Marsham Street is expected to be lower than for other government departments and industry benchmarks as shown in Figure 5.

1.29  The Home Office has told AGP which directorates will occupy floors in the new building and the Prison Service has confirmed that it will have about 1375 staff to accommodate in one of the three blocks. However, individual directorates have not yet decided which of their staff will be moving to Marsham Street or where they will be located. Until it is confirmed exactly which staff will be accommodated in 2 Marsham Street in 2005, the Home Office's plans to prepare staff for their new accommodation can only be provisional. It will be important to ensure that the business benefits of the move are secured and that staff who do not move to Marsham Street are reassured that alternative accommodation will be acceptable.

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4  Sir Michael Lyons' ongoing review of departmental structures to examine the scope for relocating civil service and other public service staff from London and the south-east to other parts of the country, to improve c ost effectiveness and achieve a better regional balance of Government activity.