Thirty-First Report - Managing central government property

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 48 21 December 2022
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 21 items (6 recs)
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Government Response (AI assessment · 21 of 21 classified)
Accepted 15
Acknowledged 6
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty first report from Session 2022-23 · published 24 Feb 2023
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker

Recommendations & Conclusions

21 results
2 Recommendation Accepted
The Cabinet Office’s efforts to update its property database have been subject to a series...
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office’s efforts to update its property database have been subject to a series of unnecessary delays and setbacks. The Cabinet Office announced its new property database in 2018, with an anticipated launch date in 2021. The Cabinet Office … Read more
Government Response Summary
An analysis has been conducted and actions have been taken forward to the current procurement, so that the delivery will be supported with in-house technology expertise and will be in a phased manner.
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3 Recommendation Accepted
The land and science property portfolios do not have clear leads, which frustrates decision making...
Recommendation
The land and science property portfolios do not have clear leads, which frustrates decision making and creates a lack of accountability for their management. In 2021, the Cabinet Office organised government property into twelve portfolios, such as health or defence, … Read more
Government Response Summary
Defra has agreed to be the portfolio lead for the land portfolio, and the lead for the science portfolio is likely to be the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), with a further update to be provided before summer recess.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Acknowledged
We are sceptical that the Government Hubs programme still represents good value for money in...
Recommendation
We are sceptical that the Government Hubs programme still represents good value for money in the current climate. The Government Hubs programme relocates civil servants from small offices into large, modern government hubs located in cities across the United Kingdom. … Read more
Government Response Summary
A progress report is provided to Ministers, on the Hubs Programme, biannually with the next due in the Summer 2023, which will be used to provide an annual update to the committee.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Acknowledged
In addition to this, the Cabinet Office should update us yearly on the rollout of...
Conclusion
In addition to this, the Cabinet Office should update us yearly on the rollout of the hubs programme. Such updates should include the lease term and next available break point for each GPA hub, the extent to which offices are … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office has commissioned departments to produce a forward look of their planned disposal activity to 2030, which will be refreshed periodically to enable analysis and monitoring of disposal plans.
HM Treasury
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6 Recommendation Acknowledged
It is unclear how the government will meet its target for property disposals, given the...
Recommendation
It is unclear how the government will meet its target for property disposals, given the past struggles of such programmes and current market uncertainty. The new government property strategy has set a target for disposing of surplus property, to generate … Read more
Government Response Summary
The response notes the Committee’s conclusion and points to the overall success of the 2018 Government Estate Strategy in unlocking savings and efficiencies.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Accepted
Government’s plan to reduce the operating costs of the government estate is not sufficiently ambitious.
Conclusion
Government’s plan to reduce the operating costs of the government estate is not sufficiently ambitious. The Cabinet Office could not tell us if the government’s current operating cost to property value ratio is a good one. In 2020–2021, the operating … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government will reduce the size of the government leasehold estate through the government Hubs programme and greater sharing of space across the public sector to achieve £500 million operating cost savings per annum by the end of the Spending Review period.
HM Treasury
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8 Recommendation 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 … Read more
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.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Acknowledged
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
Conclusion
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, including the Permanent Secretary, Chief Property Officer, the Government Head of the Property Profession and the Chief Executive of the Government … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department has now published on GOV.UK a bespoke property data standard, to enable better data collection for all of the government estate and the procurement of the new property database is due to take place throughout the course of 2023 with the expectation that the new system will be in place no later than Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Citing staffing problems, the contractor, Landmark Solution, did not complete the inSite project, even when...
Conclusion
Citing staffing problems, the contractor, Landmark Solution, did not complete the inSite project, even when granted an extension. The Cabinet Office terminated its contract with Landmark solutions in July 2022, by which point it had paid out £880,000 of the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation to get its new property database up and running as soon as possible with a target implementation date of Spring 2024.
HM Treasury
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10 Recommendation Accepted
The Cabinet Office was not able to tell us when the inSite system would be...
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office was not able to tell us when the inSite system would be functional or how much it will cost. The Cabinet Office stated that such information could only be provided after it agreed a contract with a … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to get the new property database up and running as soon as possible and has set a target implementation date of Spring 2024. It will continue to ensure the legacy system remains fully operational.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Accepted
In 2021, the Cabinet Office categorised government property into twelve portfolios based on how property...
Conclusion
In 2021, the Cabinet Office categorised government property into twelve portfolios based on how property is used.27 For some portfolios, such as defence or prisons, a single department or arm’s-length body holds all the relevant properties. In other portfolios, such … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has agreed to name lead departments for the land and science property portfolios to improve oversight and coordination, confirming Defra for land and likely DSIT for science, with an update to be provided before summer recess.
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12 Conclusion Accepted
The government believes that this portfolio approach leads to improved data and management, as well...
Conclusion
The government believes that this portfolio approach leads to improved data and management, as well as increased transparency and accountability.29 The new government property strategy lays out plans for each portfolio to have its own strategy by March Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has agreed to name lead departments for land and science property portfolios to improve oversight and coordination, with Defra confirmed for land and DSIT likely for science.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Accepted
Currently, ten of the twelve portfolios have a lead department.
Conclusion
Currently, ten of the twelve portfolios have a lead department. The science and land portfolios do not have a lead.32 Given the importance of portfolio management to government’s plans for the estate, and in ensuring a single point of accountability, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation to name lead departments for the science and land portfolios and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has agreed to be the portfolio lead for the land portfolio and the lead is likely to be the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) for the science portfolio.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Accepted
Another of the government’s major property initiatives is the Government Hubs programme.
Conclusion
Another of the government’s major property initiatives is the Government Hubs programme. The government plans to relocate civil servants from hundreds of small offices into dozens of large, modern government hubs that are strategically located in cities across the United … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's concerns regarding the Government Hubs programme and value for money, responding with plans to further reduce the Central London estate, adjust attendance rate assumptions, and consider alternative property acquisition routes.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Accepted
We questioned whether the GPA used long-term leases for its government hubs, which might commit...
Conclusion
We questioned whether the GPA used long-term leases for its government hubs, which might commit the government to paying above-market rents in the years to come.39 The GPA told us that the hubs programme relies on a mix of freeholds, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, aiming for £500 million annual operating cost savings primarily by reducing the government leasehold estate, and will report on savings in the 2023 State of the Estate Report.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Accepted
The government does not yet fully understand how offices are being used post- pandemic.
Conclusion
The government does not yet fully understand how offices are being used post- pandemic. From the data available, GPA has calculated the usage of offices is down at least 25%.41 It explained that it is rolling out new methods of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and has responded by planning further reductions in the Central London estate, adjusting attendance rate assumptions to free up space, and considering alternative routes for property acquisition to improve value for money.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Accepted
As part of the plan to ensure a “smaller, better, greener” estate, the new government...
Conclusion
As part of the plan to ensure a “smaller, better, greener” estate, the new government property strategy has set a target for disposing of surplus property. The Cabinet Office intends to generate £1.5 billion in property disposals by 2025, £500 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will write to the committee by April 2023, having commissioned departments to produce disposal pipelines to 2030 for monitoring, and plans to publish updated disposal guidance in 2023.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Accepted
We questioned the Cabinet Office about how current turbulence in the property market may affect...
Conclusion
We questioned the Cabinet Office about how current turbulence in the property market may affect this target.46 The Cabinet Office acknowledged these risks, particularly surrounding valuation. It assured us it would seek appropriate professional advice and there would be no … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation and will write to the Committee with information on how it intends to reach its property disposal target by April 2023.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Accepted
We have reported several times before about problems with land disposals programmes.
Conclusion
We have reported several times before about problems with land disposals programmes. For example, in 2021, we commented on the slow progress that the Ministry of Defence was making reducing its estate and in 2019 we noted that almost all … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will write to the committee by April 2023, having commissioned departments to produce disposal pipelines to 2030 for monitoring, and plans to publish updated disposal guidance in 2023.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Acknowledged
The new strategy’s emphasis on efficiency is also reflected in the plan to cut the...
Conclusion
The new strategy’s emphasis on efficiency is also reflected in the plan to cut the estate’s annual running costs by £500 million.51 In 2020–2021, the operating cost for central government property was £22 billion.52 We asked the Cabinet Office if … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government notes the Committee’s conclusion and refers to savings and efficiencies unlocked by the 2018 Government Estate Strategy and the goals of the recently published Government Property Strategy 2022-2030.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Acknowledged
We questioned whether the government’s plan to save £500 million on operating costs by 2025...
Conclusion
We questioned whether the government’s plan to save £500 million on operating costs by 2025 was ambitious enough, noting that it only represents approximately a 2% reduction.55 Cabinet Office officials told us the target was a cautious one and that … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government notes the Committee’s conclusion that the plan to reduce the operating costs of the government estate is not sufficiently ambitious.
HM Treasury
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