It's time for workers across Staffordshire to return to their offices and workplaces, the county council has said.

The call was made yesterday (Thursday) by the authority's Deputy Leader, Phillip White, who is also the Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills.

Cllr White felt it was important that people returned to their workplace in order to help support shops, eateries and other businesses which have been hit by the pandemic.

And the authority has said that with most office space now open in some form, people should return for part of their working week.

Cllr White said: "Most office space is now open again for employees to return in some form, even for a day or two. Office managers will have had risk assessments carried out and ensured all the necessary safety measures are in place. Most offices have reduced capacity so people will need to speak to their employer about when they can access the office.

"We understand people may be anxious if they have been away for some time, but evidence suggests that offices present a very low safety risk and have real benefits in terms of teamworking. Seeing work colleagues face-to-face again can be beneficial to people's mental health.

"Coming back into town will also make a real difference to service businesses which have been hit hard by the pandemic in recent months and need the custom of office workers.

"Here at the county council we are now holding socially distanced cabinet and select committee meetings in County Buildings. Council workers in many roles have been in the workplace throughout this year, but more of our other employees who have been home-working are now returning to Staffordshire Place. It is likely there will be a mix of home and office working for some time to come, but we're keen to see our town centres vibrant again."

Returning to offices across the UK has been a source of debate over recent weeks as the pandemic continues.

Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a plea for people across the country to begin returning to work.

However, fifty of the biggest UK employers recently told the BBC that they had no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future.