Planning for the future of the Government’s estates

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 17 Oct 2022 Closed: 31 Oct 2023 Parliament page
In 2018, the Government unveiled an ambitious estates strategy, aiming to make substantial savings, encourage regional growth, and diversify the culture of the Civil Service. This inquiry will examine progress, led by the Cabinet Office and Government Property Agency, in delivering against this strategy and learning from previous policies on … Read more
9 Recommendations
10 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
2 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
18 Oct
2023
Report published
27 Jul
2023
Report published
23 May
2023
Correspondence
28 Mar
2023
Oral evidence
28 Mar
2023
Correspondence
28 Mar
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
21 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
21 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
31 Jan
2023
Oral evidence
31 Jan
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
13 Dec
2022
Oral evidence
13 Dec
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
28 Mar 2023
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Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Alex Burghart MP · Cabinet Office Ravi Chand CBE · Cabinet Office Steven Boyd MBE · Government Property Agency
21 Feb 2023
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Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Amy Leversidge · The FDA Trade Union Garry Graham · Prospect Geoff Lewtas · Public and Commercial Services Union Martin Kelsey · Public and Commercial Services Union
31 Jan 2023
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Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Alex Thomas · Institute for Government Jordan Urban · Institute for Government Professor Tony Travers · The LSE School of Public Policy
13 Dec 2022
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Planning for the future of the Government’s estates
Kate Caulkin · The National Audit Office Ruth Kelly · The National Audit Office Siân Jones · The National Audit Office
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the futu… HC 793 27 Jul 2023 19 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
4 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servan…
Relocation targets for civil service posts lack clear rationale and consistent reporting of progress.
The Government appears to be making progress towards its target of relocating 22,000 posts by 2030, and steady progress towards a target of reducing the proportion of Senior Civil Service posts based in London to 50% of the total. However, … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's inquiry and highlights progress made through the Places for Growth and Government Hubs programmes. They state they support enhanced transparency and have accepted recommendations where appropriate.
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3 Recommendation Acknowledged
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servan…
Clarify ministerial commitments for working outside London, or issue revised, realistic regional ambitions.
The Government has made high-profile commitments that Ministers would spend significant working time in regional offices—though without clearly explaining what value this was meant to deliver. To date, Ministers have not been able to meet this commitment, making flying visits … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the difficulty of balancing ministerial duties in London with the commitment to spend time in regional offices. They state that ministers have visited staff in central Government hubs and that facilities are available for ministers in key locations, but that the planning of Cabinet meetings outside of London must balance benefits with ministerial availability and the use of taxpayers' money. For security reasons, they do not announce when and where these meetings will take place.
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servan…
Civil service relocation strategy poses risks of two-tier culture and mislocated roles
Previous governments which implemented similar programmes of civil service relocation acknowledged the risks and potential disadvantages–for example, significant upfront costs of relocation and redundancy packages, plus a loss of efficiency and coherence from moving policy roles far away from Whitehall. … Read more
Government Response
The government states that departments determine which roles should be recruited in London, and review the roles that can be relocated, with a strong bias towards moving senior roles. They say departmental workforce planning ensures the right roles are being recruited in the right locations.
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17 Recommendation Acknowledged
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servan…
Publish understanding of how official location influences policy advice and development
The Government’s claims for Places for Growth imply that it expects there to be an appreciable difference in mindset between policy officials employed in London and those in regional offices, and a corresponding change to policy. However, the responsible Minister … Read more
Government Response
The government says Places for Growth will give people from a wider range of backgrounds the opportunity to work in the Civil Service and that the composition of the Civil Service should be as representative of the people it serves as possible. They state a wider analysis of its impact on policy making will be carried out when the Programme is more mature.
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Government Response AI assessment · 19 of 9 classified
Accepted 9
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 5
Rejected 1
Total 9 recs + 10 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
23 May 2023 To committee Letter from Alex Burghart MP on follow up evidence after the 28 March oral evidence session - Planning for the future of the Government’s estates, dated 17.5.23
Parliament page
28 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from Alex Burghart MP, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office on the Government Property Strategy, dated 28.2.23
Parliament page