Technology has allowed many of us to work from home. A computer, and a gizmo to link it with other computers worldwide, empowers people to do their jobs without even leaving home. And more people are opting for this style of working life.

Some of the larger consulting firms have taken the decision not to offer their staff office space.

They expect employees will be out on assignment for much of their time so they will not need the space which would once have been their base. Many employees have a locker and that is about it.

Providing office space is expensive, especially so in London, but any big city is expensive these days and likely to get more so.

There are also advantages to the employees if they do not have to travel to work.

Anyone who has regularly travelled into York to work will know how difficult traffic is during the morning and evening rush hours. York is relatively straightforward. Bigger cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham are more testing.

After the stressful trip in there is the nightmare of parking.

It is easy to argue that we should use public transport. But public transport is still unavailable to many, and often inconvenient when available.

Anyway, what we want when we opt to drive is the chance to travel, either alone, or at least in the company of our choosing.

We want to travel when we want to, not when a timetable scheduler decides we can.

Not everyone can work from home. It is often essential that people gather together for work if only to use equipment.

More important, in many cases, is the need to bounce ideas off colleagues. Work is a group activity. The sum of the efforts of a group of individuals is more than just each individual effort added together.

Industrial estates, usually based on airfields or other former military bases ,often provide local work places. Employees have shorter journeys to work.

There are numerous well-established examples around York which are coming into their own as centres where significant employment is available.

The change in the way farming operates, with fewer holdings and bigger machines, has meant buildings built by our forebears for agriculture in the 19th century are no longer suitable these days.

Many are being converted into offices and workshops for small or medium-sized enterprises so beloved of this government, and it's predecessors.

There appears to be a ready market for such conversions. Those occupying them are reportedly delighted with the improved working conditions which such accommodation brings.

The task of bringing jobs into the rural areas of Britain continues.

The mainspring may not be agricultural, as it was when the buildings were first built, but it is pleasing to note that the offices and workshops now available perhaps offer employment to similar numbers of people.

It is essential that the present progress in getting jobs into rural areas is maintained.

It can do nothing but good for the future of rural shops, schools, churches and pubs, and for the long term well-being and lifestyles of those fortunate enough to live in the great British countryside.