The Scottish Government is scoping out a longer-term shift towards remote working as part of plans to cut car journeys.
Transport Scotland has published proposals to drive down car use by 20% within eight years, stating that "bold action" is needed to tackle the climate emergency.
It says that the recovery from CV19 "presents us with an opportunity to live and work differently".
Its draft plan proposes a raft of measures to end what Minister for Transport Graeme Dey describes as the 'car is king' status quo, including a more permanent shift to remote or local community working, where possible.
This will be supported by the roll-out of superfast broadband to 100% of premises, and the government may also help make homes more energy efficient to ensure that the carbon savings made through reduced travel are not offset by increased household emissions.
20 minute neighbourhoods
The report acknowledges that home working is not feasible for everyone, and that some might not have ideal conditions to work at home.
Instead, is suggests shared office hubs formed by repurposing existing buildings, or by developing new ‘pop-up’ communities allowing everyone to have their everyday needs met locally within a 20 minute walk, wheel or cycle from their home, no matter where it is.
The plan states: "The CV19 pandemic has demonstrated the role that digital connectivity can play in enabling many people to work and connect with others remotely and the crisis accelerated the pace of digital adoption in organisations and businesses across many sectors.
Scotland’s digital strategy aims to maintain and increase that pace of change, to ensure we remain competitive in a global marketplace. Digital transformation can help reduce the need to travel through remote working and enable businesses and people to access services and networks online."
Click here to view the plans in full.
Reaction
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce said: "Not only does this pose a threat to the long-term productivity of our businesses, it is blueprint to destroy our city centres.
"Being remote from colleagues has made team working and building much more difficult. While on-screen meetings are functional and enable information exchange, this is flat, two dimensional.
"Offices are also a vital part of our town and city centre economies and without the return of the associated footfall, the businesses that support these workers are being placed under existential threat that already is leading to permanent closures and job losses.
"The government needs to take this plan back to the drawing board. Not only that, it also needs to urgently publish the recommendations of the City Centre Recovery Taskforce, previously committed to as being published in the ‘Autumn’, and back this up with significant additional funding to support cities to adapt to a post-CV19 economy."
Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, added: "The time for directional guidance from government on working from home has passed. Employers and employees are best placed to decide what works best for them.
"We have urged the government to allow the return to offices to kick-start the economy and provide a vital boost to retailers who rely on office worker footfall."
Scottish Government response
The Scottish Government has pledged to invest heavily to encourage people to work within 20 minutes of their homes as a way of reducing car use.
A spokesman added: "The places we live have a direct impact on our health and environment. As set out in the Programme for Government, we will deliver on our vision for '20-minute neighbourhoods' across Scotland - places where people can have their needs met locally, reducing emissions and encouraging active travel.
"We will invest £325million to support community-led regeneration and town revitalisation, including the repurposing of buildings, reallocating external space and community-led land acquisition.
"We have undertaken analysis to understand the economic, social, environmental, wellbeing and inclusivity impacts that a shift to remote working might have. This will be used to identify the scope for a more enduring shift toward local, near home and remote working."
Register your views
The plans are currently the subject of a public consultation which is open until April 6th.
If you would like to respond to the plans, either as an individual or a business, you can do so here.