OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT
COMMERCE News Release (Ref: 11/07) issued by The Government News
Network on 25 June 2007
Whitehall
departments accounting for over 90% of the Government's
office estate have agreed how to deliver Government's High
Performing Property initiative. At their first meeting on 25 May,
the Board level champions - mainly Director-General level
responsible for property portfolios - decided the key actions
needed to implement a transformation programme that will have the
most fundamental impact ever for the Government estate.
High Performing Property is a major change programme which seeks
to deliver the following benefits:
* A rationalised and fit for purpose Government estate that is
better aligned to deliver a more efficient service to the citizen
* Annual savings of between £1 billion and £1.5 billion by 2013
from an estate that costs £6 billion a year to run
* Resources released to the front line, equivalent to building 50
new schools or 10 new hospitals a year
* A more demanding and intelligent Government client that will
require accommodation solutions that provide greater flexibility
and adaptability
The action plan agreed by the champions at the meeting
included:
* cross Government collaboration and data sharing on
the way that Government occupied buildings are managed and used in
order to realise the transformation programme;
* The collection and maintenance of robust data on a building by
building basis to achieve quality decisions on the management and
use of their estates and those of their agencies and sponsored bodies;
* A focus on improving space utilisation as a key source of
significant efficiency gains, recognising that this has
considerably wider implications than just property usage;
* The use of the Office of Government Commerce's cross
Government property database (e-PIMS) as the primary platform for
information on individual holdings on the estate, and for
performance measurement and benchmarking. Use of the OGC's
Property Benchmarking Service has now been mandated to all
departments, agencies and sponsored bodies.
* The avaliability of of this data for interrogation across Government;
* The core principles of the role of the champion as the focal
point within a department and its agencies and sponsored bodies
for implementing High Performing Property and for providing
strategic direction on the management and use of those estates.
High Performing Property was launched by the Chief Secretary to
the Treasury last November. It is a five year strategy and
implementation plan for improving the management and use of the
Governement's office estate which OGC is tasked with
overseeing. The programme is integral to the changes set out in
the Government strategy for OGC, Transforming Government
Procurement and to OGC's new role and remit
The plan implements the call by Sir Michael Lyons in his December
2004 report Towards Better Management of Public Sector Assets for
a stronger focus on the efficient management of Government's
retained assets and stronger portfolio management, particularly of
the London estate. Commenting on this Sir Michael Lyons said:
"I am very encouraged with the progress being made by the
OGC to deliver stronger central management of the Government civil
estate. Improved management and use of property assets by
Departments and their agencies and sponsored bodies offers the
opportunity to realise significant savings, service improvements
and better working conditions . The High Performing Property
implementation plan sets out very clearly how this will be
achieved and is a strong framework for the direction that
Government needs to take."
Notes to Editors
Government has a duty of care to the taxpayer in terms of
achieving both efficiency & effectiveness of government's
property assets. Both are complementary to the delivery of public
services with the prize of much better value for money. The
Government's High Performing Property programme is the
trigger to achieving this more strategic approach to property
asset management - For further information, see link: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/better_asset_management_efficiency_in_property_asset_management.asp
The High Performing Property Implementation Plan contains the
activities and milestones that Government will need to comply with
to achieve the target level savings: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/CP0154HighPerformingPropertyImplementationPlan.pdf
About OGC
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is an office of HM
Treasury, responsible for improving value for money by driving up
standards and capability in procurement, from commodities buying
to the delivery of major capital projects, maximising the
effective use of 60% of Government spending and a £30 billion
property estate.
A new Government strategy launched in January 2007, Transforming
Government Procurement, highlighted the central importance of
procurement in delivering high-quality public services and best
value for money. OGC is tasked with delivering this
transformation, and with driving up standards and procurement
capability across central Government. The OGC will do this through:
* Setting the right procurement standards and ensuring they are met;
* Capitalising on the Government's collective buying power
to achieve value for money;
* And playing a stronger role in the successful delivery of major projects.
Office of Government Commerce, Trevelyan House, 26 - 30 Great
Peter Street, London SW1P 2BY