More than £140,000 has been spent on treatment for bedbugs in Government offices over the past two years – including in the headquarters of the UK’s health security agency.
In 2023, the Government Property Agency (GPA) spent £28,564 on treating an office in London which was closed just a year later.
Work on the property – 1 Victoria Street, which housed the three departments spanning business, energy and technology – included furniture removal and disposal, heat treatment and the use of sniffer dogs, according to data released under Freedom of Information laws.
The building was closed in February 2024 in an effort to streamline the government estate and save taxpayers’ money, with the affected departments relocated in Whitehall.
In 2024, the GPA spent £103,170 treating bedbugs at 10 South Colonnade in London’s Canary Wharf.
The building is home to a range of government departments, including the UK Health Security Agency, whose job it is to protect public health and combat environmental hazards.
The FoI data also shows that £11,072 was spent treating the Home Office’s headquarters on Marsham Street with “dog detection air sampling”.
In 2024, The i Paper revealed traces of bedbugs had been found in furniture in the Marsham Street building. The insects were believed to have been “brought in from outside and then transferred around the building”.
Other costs for treatment, including furniture and pest control were covered by the Private Finance Initiative – a deal with private companies for delivery and maintenance of a public asset – the Cabinet Office said.
The i Paper understands that staff mostly continued to use all three buildings during the treatment, with the works typically taking place overnight.
However, it was previously reported that some civil servants at the UK Health Security Agency were told to work from home during the treatment early last year.
What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are small insects which often live on furniture. Their bites can be itchy but usually aren’t serious.
At home they can live in clothes or sheets and are named after their habit of hiding out in beds, then emerging at night. Their bites leave itchy blotches, which appear red on white skin or purplish on darker skin tones.
The bites will usually be on parts of the body that were exposed overnight, such as the arms or face.
Bedbugs can be difficult to get rid of because they can nestle deep into cracks in furniture.
In 2023, there were fears in London that bedbugs could spread through the capital after an outbreak in Paris where they were reported in schools, trains, hospitals and cinemas.
The UK has long had its own bedbugs, often found on public transport.
Reports of infestations increase in late summer and autumn, which may be partly just because people tend to travel more in summer and then bring home the insects.
In winter, bedbugs tend to go into a dormant state if exposed to cooler temperatures, and so cannot travel so well between buildings.
The FDA union, which represents civil servants, said bedbugs in government buildings were a “major concern”.
“Issues like this are a major concern and, when identified, must be eliminated as quickly as possible,” said assistant general secretary Lucille Thirlby.
“Failure to do so can have a hugely negative impact on staff morale and productivity, not to mention the obvious risks to their health and wellbeing.
“Civil servants deserve to know they are working in a safe and secure workplace. It’s absolutely right that the government has spent this money to treat infestations.”
The new Government has spent more than £5bn on tackling disrepair across the public estate, which includes hospitals, schools and prisons as well as civil servant offices.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, which runs the GPA, said: “All offices require upkeep and maintenance; issues with potential to impact the wellbeing of those using our buildings are prioritised and addressed promptly and professionally.
“In these instances, affected areas were isolated and treated successfully to prevent wider outbreaks.”
Levy has to be brave enough to do what he has never done at Tottenham