Thirty-First Report - Managing central government property
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 48
21 December 2022
Recommendations
2 results
4
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. …
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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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6
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 …
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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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Conclusions (4) Observations and findings — click to expand
5
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 being sublet, the current levels of vacant space and what …
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.
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 Property Agency on the management of central government property.1
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.
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 it considered government’s current operating cost to property value ratio …
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.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 it might be able to save more. It explained that …
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.