29th Report - Condition of Government property

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 641 11 June 2025
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 28 items (6 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 26 of 28 classified)
Accepted 10
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 10
Rejected 1
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty ninth report from Session 2024-26 · published 18 Sep 2025
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Recommendations & Conclusions

10 results
3 Conclusion Accepted
Improve departmental property plans through regular assessment and Ministry of Defence housing estate strategy.
Conclusion
Many departments’ property plans lack the information necessary to manage and maintain their portfolios. Departments are required to prepare Strategic Asset Management Plans (SAMPs) to consider the totality of their assets and document their planned approach to managing maintenance and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, reporting that the Defence Housing Strategy Review (DHSR) is planned for publication later this year. This review will set out a roadmap for renewing Service Family Accommodation, identify surplus land, and inform a comprehensive Strategic Asset Management Plan, directly addressing the Ministry of Defence's housing estate plans.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Update on longer-term property maintenance planning; mandate Treasury to consider disposal alternatives.
Conclusion
Short–term funding for property maintenance is hindering longer–term planning. Departments typically bid for property maintenance funding on a yearly basis. This short–term funding cycle can be inefficient as it hinders departments’ ability to plan longer–term maintenance works. The contracting phase … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that The Green Book already mandates that business cases for maintenance funding must include a full range of options, including disposing of existing assets and building new properties, in addition to maintaining existing ones.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Set out Cabinet Office plans to improve recruitment, skills, and diversity of government property professionals.
Recommendation
Many departments and arm’s length bodies do not have the skills and capabilities to manage their property portfolio effectively. There is a shortage of skilled property professionals across departments. Departments are finding it difficult to recruit and retain property professionals. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will produce a strategic capability plan for the property profession during financial year 2025-26, which will identify skills shortages and inform work to improve skills and diversity.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Accepted
Update committee on review of government property oversight and actions to remove duplicate roles.
Conclusion
The Cabinet Office’s oversight of government property risks being ineffective due to duplication of roles. The OGP is responsible for the overall strategy for non–office property across government, whereas the Government Property Agency (GPA) is responsible for office related strategy. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states that a review of the Government Property Agency (GPA) is underway, and the Cabinet Office will write to the Committee with the outcome and how it addresses duplication concerns.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
Evidence received from Cabinet Office and DIO on condition of government property.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from Cabinet Office and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) on the condition of government property.1
Government Response Summary
The government states the 'recommendation' is implemented and describes existing Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and flexibilities for departments to manage and roll over capital budgets.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Accepted
No standard definition for government maintenance backlog impedes strategic funding decisions.
Recommendation
There is no standard definition for the calculation of the total maintenance backlog across government. Government organisations include different costs in their individual calculations. The lack of consistent and complete data impacts government’s ability to make well–informed, strategic choices in … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office has written to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute response to provide an update on mandating a standard definition of backlog, Insite implementation, and departmental compliance.
HM Treasury
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8 Recommendation Accepted
Cabinet Office's InSite programme targeting improved data consistency for government property by April 2025.
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office aims to improve data consistency through its new InSite programme, enabling the implementation of the government property data standard across the central government property portfolio.12 It told us that the Insite was going live and would be … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office has written to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute response with updates on data standardisation and Insite implementation.
HM Treasury
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15 Recommendation Accepted
Ministry of Defence reviewing housing estate to address poor conditions and recruitment issues.
Recommendation
We raised concerns about the Ministry of Defence housing estate.26 The Chief Executive of the DIO told us that the Ministry is undertaking a review of the housing estate in order to address poor condition. As part of the review, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Ministry of Defence will report to the Committee its plan for redeveloping its housing estate, including long-term plans in the departmental SAMP, disposals, redevelopment and maintenance, target implementation date Autumn 2025.
HM Treasury
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25 Recommendation Accepted
Overlapping remits between OGP and GPA prompt Cabinet Office review for efficiency
Recommendation
The OGP sets the overall strategic direction for the management of government property overall, split across 15 portfolios.49 The OGP told us that the Government Property Agency (GPA), which is an executive agency of Cabinet Office, sets and delivers the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will write to the Committee with the outcome of the review of the Government Property Agency (GPA), including how it addresses the concerns of duplication, clarifying that the review is not in relation to oversight of all government property.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Accepted
OGP's Better Buildings Programme lacks sufficient leverage to drive change in departments
Conclusion
The Cabinet Office has attempted to improve oversight of departments’ management of property, and to increase the guidance available to assist them. It did this through the Better Buildings Programme, launched in 2022, which aimed to share best practice and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's finding and states that a review of the Government Property Agency (GPA) is currently underway to address concerns about leverage and duplication, with a target implementation date of Winter 2025.
HM Treasury
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