The Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, has spoken of her disbelief that only 18 people are recorded as having worked at the Welsh Government Office in Llandudno Junction on a daily basis during the month of September 2021. The Llandudno Junction office opened in 2010 at a cost of around £23 million.
The statistics, obtained as an FOI reply, show that, in spite of the fact that just over 390 people are presently contracted to work at the building, the average daily attendance level for September was recorded as 18 people. This number was an increase on the 16 people who attended the site daily in August, when the Welsh Government moved Coronavirus restrictions to Alert Level Zero.
Commenting on the revelation, Janet said:
“I am astounded that only eighteen people worked at the Llandudno Junction office on a daily basis throughout September. Whilst the pandemic has undoubtedly changed the modern way of work, to have such a building lying dormant for a prolonged period raises urgent questions about the money being spent to maintain the property.
“That the attendance number has only just doubled those attending the multi-million pound building at the very height of the pandemic underlines that the Welsh Government's vanity project in North Wales serves no beneficial purpose at present.
“Built only over a decade ago, this modern Welsh Government building would have ample social distancing space to support the return to work for more than eighteen workers, especially as we have seen the partial return of other large scale offices including on the Senedd estate.
“Mark Drakeford's administration must urgently explain to the people of North Wales how this office has been allowed to become a tax money black hole and confirm to the Senedd whether a return to work plan for the site will be implemented.”
On the issue, the Welsh Government’s FOI states:
“Following the lifting of lockdown the Welsh Government has continued to implement the First Minister’s message that staff should continue to work from home where possible, which has resulted in low attendance levels currently.”
Last year, Janet revealed that approximately £916,000 had been spent on maintenance and repairs for the office, between 2017 and 2020. The bulk of the money spent since the 2017/2018 financial year has been on repairs and replacements, totalling approximately £543,000.
In 2018, her investigations disclosed that £2,246,000 had been spent on building maintenance during its first seven years.
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