Only 12 per cent of Welsh Government employees are using a Powys office that was refurbished for £1 million
A contractor was appointed in 2020 to lead a £1 million project to refurbish County Hall in Llandrindod Wells to allow it to be used by the Welsh Assembly Government
But five years later, a report says Welsh Government ministers aim to have staff working from the office two days a week or 40 per cent of the time, but in March daily office attendance averaged 16 per cent and was just 9per cent at a ‘main hub’ in Merthyr Tydfil.
The Welsh government has about 5,700 staff spread across 20 sites, and is holding a review of office requirements in Powys "partly because of the change in the way that people work", First Minister Eluned Morgan said.
She warned the Welsh government "can't justify continuing to hold offices open if people don't turn up" to work in them.
Trade unions expressed strong support for the current working arrangements, but the Welsh Conservatives said they "would end unnecessary remote working".
The 15 "core offices" include the main hubs of Cathays Park in Cardiff, Rhyd-y-Car in Merthyr Tydfil, Rhodfa Padarn in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, and Sarn Mynach in Llandudno Junction, Conwy county.
Their running costs are £24.5m, according to latest figures.
Another five offices and premises are located across Wales "to ensure a dispersed presence, and to ensure that services can be delivered to meet business needs", the Welsh government said.
Brecon and Radnorshire Senedd Member James Evans hit out at the shocking new figures..
The Welsh Government leases most of the ground floor at County Hall, Llandrindod Wells, a massive floor space now only utilised by 13 staff. The initial refurbishment costs in 2020 were reported to be circa £1 million!
James said: “To learn that attendance figures at Welsh Government’s Llandrindod Wells office are just 12% is disgraceful. Public money is being wasted on this vast office space that is barely being used.
“This is public money, and taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. Welsh Labour created this problem with their lax attitude to taxpayers’ money and poor leadership on this issue. I await the findings of the review into the Powys offices, due to be published in September.
“The Welsh Conservatives have pledged to end unnecessary remote working and get people off their settees and back into their offices if we enter government next May.”
Independent MS Russell George raised concerns in the Senedd last week about the future of the office in Newtown, Powys.
That office had the highest average daily percentage attendance in March at 22% - 17 staff.
He said it was important to have government offices across Wales "because those offices and the staff who work there support shops and services in towns as well".
He added: "It is important to employ and retain people who live in mid Wales to make the Welsh government more reflective of the needs and requirements of all people, from all communities across Wales."
Morgan replied: "We are having a review at the moment, partly because of the change in the way that people work.."
The review of the Powys offices, in Llandrindod Wells and Newtown, is due to be completed by the end of September.
The Welsh government's latest State of the Estate report, for 2023-24, published in May, said it "looks back on a year where our offices remained under-occupied as staff continued to work remotely".
"This is being addressed by an ongoing increase in the amount of spaces now allocated to public sector tenants.
"More of our spaces are being used as public sector hubs while Welsh government staff adopt a hybrid model of working."
