In these days of Gershon, all government departments have to find savings, a fact of life that has not passed by the new Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander.
It seems that it has been raised with “wee Dougie” that not a lot actually happens in the Scotland Office since devolution, yet they still have the grand Whitehall mansion of Dover House at their disposal.
The thought of leaving Dover House for smaller, more cost effective premises has sent civil servants into apoplexy. The Scotland Office is something of a backwater in Whitehall, the equivalent to the FCO’s Tristan da Cuhna posting (if it still exists?) - a place where you’re unlikely to find your work on the Daily Mail front page and where no-one will really notice you’re there as long as you pop out a press release every time the SoS visits something or the labour force statistics are published.
But although this peaceful oasis at the heart of the government machine is threatened, this isn’t the main reason why panic-stricken civil servants are clinging to their desks. It seems that the rear view out of Dover House is extremely highly prized by mandarins. Not only do they have a leafy vista of St James’ Park, they look directly down onto Horseguards Parade, which is where the beach volleyball will be taking place in the 2012 Olympics.
editor[at]recessmonkey.com
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