The move forms part of its long-term civil service transformation to reduce fragmented government office buildings from 800 to 200, by 2030.

Moving 6,000 employees from eight government departments into the Canary Wharf hub will result in £24m of savings per year. Furthermore, the average cost per sq/m in the Canary Wharf building is £700, compared to £950 for Whitehall buildings.

Co-located with other departments including Ofcom and the Ministry of Justice, HMRC is the largest occupier of the government hub, with 2,000 London-based staff benefiting from the flexible, collaborative work environment.

The Government Property Agency is expected to deliver £3.6bn worth of savings over 20 years, with £2.5bn coming from its hubs programme. 

Oliver Dowden, minister for implementation, said: ‘It is great to see public and private sector staff rubbing shoulders here in Canary Wharf. This hub is one of 14 across the country already announced which will use cutting-edge design and innovative technology to deliver smarter public services that reduce vacant space across the government estate.

‘The government has saved £300m per year in running costs, through the disposal of over a thousand properties since 2014. By the end of this Parliament, we will have established a network of around 20 multi-agency government hubs across the UK that utilise efficient smarter working practices and are accessible to the communities they serve.’

The Canary Wharf building had previously been used by Barclays and was selected based on its transport links, which will be further enhanced by the opening of Crossrail in the future.

The Cabinet office reported that through smarter property management, and the uptake of modern, more efficient working practices, vacant space has been reduced across the government estate by 73% since 2014.

Report by Pat Sweet