8
Accepted
None of the witnesses were able to tell us at the hearing how many of...
Recommendation
None of the witnesses were able to tell us at the hearing how many of the 12 HMRC hubs were let on 25-year unbreakable leases. They thought it was one or two, the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office subsequently wrote to us saying it was six. This means that six large hubs are locked into much higher rents than the current market but the capital values for the leases have also declined. HMRC is now trying to sub-let spaces at a rent which is higher than the market. We warned HMRC about this practice. We heard that the Chief Executive of the GPA was now much more open to obtaining a range of freehold and leasehold options for the hubs and other offices. Recommendation 6: The Cabinet Office should write to us within six months splitting out operating costs of the government estate by expenditure type (including lease obligations) and also set out the current £500 million planned savings for each area and what scope there is for additional savings. 8 Managing central government property 1 How the Cabinet Office manages government property
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to write to the committee within six months splitting out operating costs of the government estate by expenditure type and sets out the current £500 million planned savings for each area and what scope there is for additional savings. The government says it already collects and reports aggregated running costs from departments that are published annually in the State of the Estate Report and will set out what savings have been made in the first six months of the Strategy (from September 2022 to March 2023) in the 2023 State of the Estate Report.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target Implementation Date: end March 2023 7.2 The government already collects and reports aggregated running costs from departments that are published annually in the State of the Estate Report. 7.3 The Government Property Strategy 2022 sets a target of £500 million operating cost savings per annum by the end of the Spending Review period. It is expected that this target will be achieved primarily from reducing the size of the government leasehold estate, including through the government Hubs programme, greater sharing of space across the public sector and exploiting the benefits of smarter working. The 2023 State of the Estate Report will set out what savings have been made in the first six months of the Strategy (from September 2022 to March 2023).
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
Thirty-First Report - Managing central government property
21 Dec 2022
HC 48
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
3.4 yrs
Report published
21 Dec 2022