Working from home is a risk for UK public finances, watchdog group says

Britain’s public finances could take a hit from the a permanent shift toward working from home, the government’s independent budget watchdog said.

"Our feeling is that it will be somewhat less government-revenue rich than office working,” said Andy King, a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said at a Parliament hearing in London on Wednesday. "If you think about spending less on commuting, cafes and restaurants and spending more on heating homes or buying fans during the summer, or spending more on your supermarket shop -- all of those things reduce the amount of government revenue per pound of activity.” The remarks are among the first to give an official assessment of how a shift in working culture will affect the economy. While the U.K. lifted many of the remaining pandemic restrictions earlier this week, 16 months of lockdowns have fueled resistance among many employees toward returning to office.