More flexible and agile working practices could deliver savings of up to 32% through reduced estate costs and the ease of access available from new technology.

Research carried out by cloud providers Citrix, found that the government pays £490 per square meter of estate, with an average of 1.1 desks for every office worker, with the figure rising to 1.6 in certain departments.

James Stevenson, area vice president of Citrix Northern Europe, said: “By embracing the benefits offered by modern technology and more flexible working practices, the government could effectively halve the number of desks it maintains across departments.”