§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the floor area to be occupied by each employee at the Abbey Wood procurement executive headquarters; what is the equivalent figure currently available to staff working in South Dorset; and what was the original area per employee that had been planned for Abbey Wood at the outset of the project. [21242]
§ Mr. FreemanWithin the Abbey Wood headquarters office buildings, which is mainly open plan, the average floor area to be occupied by each employee will be 9.64 sq m, which includes an allowance for storage, IT equipment and local meeting space. For the largely cellular office accommodation occupied by MOD staff in Portland, south Dorset, the average floor area occupied by each employee is some 13.25 sq m. The original average floor area planned at the outset of the Abbey Wood project was 10.52 sq m per employee. More taut accommodation standards are now being implemented.