Remember Jacob Rees-Mogg, Brexit opportunities and government efficiency minister, lurking round Whitehall offices to leave sarcastic printed cards on any empty desk: “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon. With every good wish”? The following year his government ordered the entire civil service to attend the office a minimum of 60% of the time. That has led to strikes and disputes over hybrid working, including at the Land Registry, among Metropolitan police civilians and at the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Covid taught many lessons: one of the best was discovering that people can work flexibly, need not waste time and money commuting, and can take jobs far from home while employers recruit the best from anywhere.

The ONS is in so much trouble, from top to toe, you might think it would hasten to resolve this morale-lowering dispute, which appears symptomatic of what went wrong with its recently departed leadership. This week it hit yet more trouble, delaying crucial retail sales figures to carry out further data “quality assurance”.

Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members have voted yet again to continue their 18-month-old dispute with the ONS: 68% voted for strike action on a 71% turnout. It’s been an oddly quiet dispute: staff went on working their usual hybrid patterns, for their usual pay. But ONS bosses feel obliged to follow the 2023 civil service edict to dragoon staff into the office. This time staff are taking zero-attendance action.

“What impact has hybrid working had on the ONS?” I asked the ONS spokesperson: the nation’s statisticians should have the best grasp on any research. Being an honest outfit, the press officer said: “We don’t know … We suspect there might be a bad impact,........

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