Whitehall has employed digital doctors to solve internet issues such as stuttering video conversations, while thousands of public officials continue to work from home.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has recruited the British tech firm Actual Experience to detect system flaws and ensure that the Department’s specialist personnel around the country can do their critical responsibilities more efficiently and simply.
According to sources, many of the Department’s 10,000 employees, including veterinarians and agriculture inspectors, are expected to work remotely.
However, according to government data, many civil servants across Whitehall departments have rejected calls to return to work after gaining a taste for working from home during the Covid pandemic.
Former Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg last year attempted to end civil servants’ remote working culture, including by leaving notes on empty desks with the message: “I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.”
The UK economy is losing an estimated £60 billion a year through lost productivity through poor internet services, partly due to the increase in home working, according to Actual Experience. Domestic broadband services are rarely fast or reliable enough for work use, the firm says.