11
Acknowledged
There are some signs in the last two to three years that the Department has...
Conclusion
There are some signs in the last two to three years that the Department has started to get a better grip of optimising its estate. The new Permanent Secretary told us that the Department now has good prospects for delivering its estate optimisation plans in the future, driven by a mindset of “delivery, delivery, delivery”.15 In 2018, it delegated budgets and liability for managing the estate back to TLBs, which the Department explained puts accountability and responsibility in the same place. The Department told us that it will be giving TLBs mandates in the next few months to start implementing and delivering each of their various programmes.16 Since May 2020, the DEO Portfolio has had revised governance arrangements which set out responsibilities for delivering and monitoring programmes within the Portfolio. The Department has established a central coordinating team which provides oversight and guidance to the Portfolio. This team also supports the Portfolio Board, which provides direction on implementing the Department’s strategy and holds the TLBs to account.17
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's positive observations regarding the department gaining a better grip on estate optimisation, committing to provide a report by Summer 2022 and highlighting over £1 billion in site disposals and improved funding for estate programmes.
Government Response
Acknowledged
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 3.2 The department will provide a report to the Committee immediately following the Ministers’ endorsement and subsequent update to Parliament. 3.3 The department has disposed of over 200 surplus sites since 2015 in line with expectations to the value of over £1 billion. The department has also been optimising its use of the current estate to ensure it is appropriately located, resilient and sustainable to provide better value for money. 3.4 Following the 2020 SR, DEO is now fully funded following a gap left by withdrawal of Private Finance funding. It will meet new capability demands and be an important but not exclusive part of optimising the estate. The DEO portfolio SRO has worked closely with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and engaged with a client-side partner to provide private sector and industry knowledge for maximising returns. The SRO has also engaged with relevant cross-Whitehall stakeholders, such as the Cabinet Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
Twentieth Report - Optimising the defence estate
12 Oct 2021
HC 179
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
4.8 yrs
Report published
12 Oct 2021