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

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

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Recommendations & Conclusions

15 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.

HM Treasury

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

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

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

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

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

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.

HM Treasury

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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