The Department for Work and Pensions is set to leave its Caxton House headquarters next year, the Government Property Agency has confirmed.
The GPA's latest business plan, published on 23 December, includes a list of actions planned to achieve the agency’s key targets.
One of these actions outlines the plan for the closure of Caxton House on Tothill Street next year, with DWP officials set to move into the Sanctuary Buildings on Great Smith Street, the Department for Education’s HQ. Sanctuary Buildings is a five-minute walk from Caxton House.
It also says an exit from 102 Petty France, the current HQ for the Ministry of Justice, the Government Legal Department, Crown Prosecution Service and HM Courts and Tribunals Service, is planned in 2028.
All the moves are "subject to support from HM Treasury", the document says.
Ahead of the DWP move, Sanctuary Buildings is undergoing refurbishments to increase space utilisation, improve accessibility, and reduce annual running costs, CSW understands.
The office closures are part of the government’s plans to reduce the Whitehall campus to 16 buildings, as set out in the 2022-2030 Government Property Strategy, which was published in August 2022 at the tail end of Boris Johnson’s government.
Last year, the GPA closed the doors of 1 Victoria Street, the former headquarters of the business department, as part of the estates rationalisation programme, which aims to reduce running costs and move more roles away from the capital. Staff were relocated to government-wide hub buildings at 3-8 Whitehall Place, 55 Whitehall and 22-26 Whitehall, and other sites in Whitehall.
The 2022-2030 Government Property Strategy also promised a new Plan for London. Cabinet Office director Ravi Chand, who is the senior responsible officer for the plan, as well as for Places for Growth, said in 2023 that the Plan for London was looking to reduce the headcount in the capital from 100,000 staff (full-time equivalent) to around 75,000 (FTE), but this plan has yet to be published.
A GPA spokesperson said: "DWP staff currently based in Caxton House will be relocated to Sanctuary Building, a short distance away, once the building's lease expires in 2026.
"This is in line with our ambition to provide high-quality workspaces in modern, efficient buildings — creating a greener, more cost-effective public estate that benefits both civil servants and taxpayers."