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Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215047632
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 38
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Book Description
Central government office estate comprises over 5 million m2 of space and costs around £1.8 billion a year to run. Rationalisation of the estate therefore offers the public sector the chance to secure significant efficiency savings. From 2004 to 2010, central government departments have made savings of around £100 million each year on the cost of offices however government's use of space is still relatively inefficient. The Government Property Unit was established in 2010 to accelerate efficiency savings from the estate, but it has not provided the leadership necessary to deliver an effective cross-government approach. Until property is seen by departments as a cost as well as an asset, the vast potential savings will not be realised. The Unit needs to make it in the interests of departments to work together and, to do so it needs the support of the Treasury, which so far has been far too passive. Three further areas where the Unit needs to show far greater leadership are also highlighted. First, the bulk of public sector estate belongs to local government and the Unit needs to ensure that central and local government work more collaboratively. Second, the Unit needs to centralise property ownership and start to negotiate terms with major landlords on a more standardised basis. Finally, consolidating the estate will inevitably lead to the mothballing of buildings and current market conditions are making it difficult to re-let surplus space. There is, though, no point in the Government simply holding property in the hope of a future rise in property prices
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215047632
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 38
Get Book Here
Book Description
Central government office estate comprises over 5 million m2 of space and costs around £1.8 billion a year to run. Rationalisation of the estate therefore offers the public sector the chance to secure significant efficiency savings. From 2004 to 2010, central government departments have made savings of around £100 million each year on the cost of offices however government's use of space is still relatively inefficient. The Government Property Unit was established in 2010 to accelerate efficiency savings from the estate, but it has not provided the leadership necessary to deliver an effective cross-government approach. Until property is seen by departments as a cost as well as an asset, the vast potential savings will not be realised. The Unit needs to make it in the interests of departments to work together and, to do so it needs the support of the Treasury, which so far has been far too passive. Three further areas where the Unit needs to show far greater leadership are also highlighted. First, the bulk of public sector estate belongs to local government and the Unit needs to ensure that central and local government work more collaboratively. Second, the Unit needs to centralise property ownership and start to negotiate terms with major landlords on a more standardised basis. Finally, consolidating the estate will inevitably lead to the mothballing of buildings and current market conditions are making it difficult to re-let surplus space. There is, though, no point in the Government simply holding property in the hope of a future rise in property prices
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102951462
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 56
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Book Description
The background to this NAO report is a renewed focus on the contribution that office property can make to improving government efficiency. The Government's civil property estate has an estimated worth of £30 billion and costs around £6 billion to run presenting significant opportunities for savings. This NAO report seeks to add impetus to the Office of Government's Commerce (OGC) initiative to save up to £1.5 billion through an annual efficiency saving by 2013. This report presents a consolidated view of the performance of central government departments' UK office property. The assessment is based on 16 Government departments', with a detailed review of departments' office strategies and planning processes. Divided into five parts, it covers the following areas: the importance of office property; an analysis of central government's spending; departmental property asset management; the role of the OGC in improving government's value for money; the potential efficiency savings from improving the performance of office property. Among the recommendations, are: Departments should have better data on the efficiency of individual buildings; Departments should actively engage wit the OGC's benchmarking service for the efficiency performance of buildings; Department's can achieve cost savings by locating in less expensive regions.
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102975437
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 39
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Book Description
In this report the NAO looks at the efficiency of central government office property since 2004. It finds that departments have made good progress in improving the efficiency of their office estate, but should stop managing their estates in isolation from one another in order to achieve best value for money. Departments have reduced the annual cost of the civil estate, including offices, laboratories and courts, by an estimated £600 million in real terms between April 2004 and March 2010. Since April 2010, the annual cost of running the estate has reduced by a further £212 million. In many cases, departments are nearing the point where they have consolidated their own estates as much as they can individually, and further savings will require them to share space and use it more flexibly. The Government Property Unit (GPU) now facilitates interdepartmental planning. This sets the basis for improving future property coordination. However, because of the weak commercial property market, departments are finding it difficult to surrender leasehold buildings before their leases expire. If the Government achieves an average space utilization of 10 m2 per person, it will release about 2.1 million m2 of space, costing £830 million a year to run. However, this will require complex and substantial reconfiguration of the estate and depend on moving out of surplus office space in a difficult market. The NAO estimates around £650 million of this reduction can be achieved by 2020 by not renewing leases.
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102969634
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
In May 2010, the Government announced the formation of the Efficiency and Reform Group within the Cabinet Office. The Group brings many of the functions of a typical corporate headquarters together in one place in the centre of government. Its priorities are improving efficiency in central government, and wider reform of the way public services are provided, in order to make the spending reductions required by the 2010 Spending Review. The Group is responsible for various new initiatives which are designed to increase efficiency, make savings and improve value for money. These include renegotiating contracts with major suppliers; implementation of a centralised procurement process; a review of major government projects; and a new Property Unit. The NAO's review details various challenges that the Group faces. It is too soon for the NAO to reach a judgment on its success in improving the value for money of government overall. The review is intended to provide an objective baseline against which progress made by the Group can be assessed by the NAO and the Public Accounts Committee.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215523549
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 48
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Book Description
Annually, central government spends some £558 billion, and this is forecast to increase to £678 billion by 2010-11. Strong and competent financial resources management is central to departments meeting their objectives cost effectively and delivering public services which represent value for money. Since the Committee's last report on this topic (HC 181, 25th report of session 2003-04, ISBN 9780215023636) the number of qualified finance directors with a seat on the departmental board has increased, enhancing the focus on financial performance at senior management level, but the lack of financial skills and awareness amongst non-finance staff remains a barrier to improving financial management more generally across government. Accruals-based accounting and budgeting systems are helping some departments identify under-utilised assets and dispose of those no longer required. Departments need to improve their forecasting capabilities to strengthen budgetary control and to avoid underspends not being identified early enough to reallocate resources to other priorities. Departments are continuing to spend less money than they forecast, particularly on capital projects, increasing the risk that resources are not being allocated across government in the most effective way. Few departmental boards are presented with accurate, timely and integrated financial and operational performance information to enable them to take sufficiently informed decisions on the use of resources and to review performance. Although the Treasury and Cabinet Office have a number of initiative to improve resource management, there is some way to go before financial management is fully embedded within departmental cultures.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215522160
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
Within Central Government, preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are being led by the Government Olympic Executive, which is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The Excutive is responsible for co-ordinating the activities of a wide range of organisations, including the Olympic Delivery Authority, whichis responsible for the construction of venues and associated infrastructure. Whilst individual organisations have their own programme management arrangements, the Governmetn Olympic Executive has not hyet developed a plan for the programme as a whole, or finalised arrangements for identifying and managing risks across the programme. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 490, session 2007-08, ISBN 97801102954197) the Committee took evidence from DCMS and the Olympic Delivery Authority onthe progress made in preparing for the London 2012 Olympc and Paralympic Games
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215523648
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 52
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Book Description
The 14-19 education reform programme aims to increase young people's participation in education and training beyond age 16 and raise their educational attainment. Central to the programme are new Diploma qualifications, being introduced between September 2008 and 2013, in 14 different occupational areas that offer a blend of academic and vocational learning. This report examines: giving all young people access to Diplomas; reducing complexity and communicating simply; and having the capability to deliver the reforms. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (the Department) has involved universities and employers in designing the Diplomas and developing their content. As new qualifications, there is still much work to be done to convince parents, employers and universities that Diplomas are a credible alternative to existing qualifications. To help make the qualifications more understandable, the Department and its partners need to demonstrate clearly how Diplomas will help young people progress into further learning and employment. By 2013, the Department is aiming for all young people in England to have access to all 14 Diplomas at three different skill levels. The Department has spent £590 million on the programme. It has not yet established cost estimates built up from the local level for delivering Diplomas, and has only just begun surveying local authorities to assess their capital requirements.
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Accounts Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215525482
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
The NAO report on this topic published as HCP 481, session 2007-08 (ISBN 9780102954159)
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215524294
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
Since their introduction under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, community orders have offered courts the ability to impose a range of 12 possible 'requirements', including accredited programmes (such as anger management courses or alcohol and drug rehabilitation), unpaid work in the community and supervision by the National Probation Service. There is little information available nationally on the effectiveness of community orders. On the key measure of reconviction, figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that for those sentenced to community orders, their actual reconviction rate was significantly lower than those sentenced to custodial sentences for similar offences. There is, though, no basic information such as national data on whether offenders have completed their community orders, nor on why offenders have failed to complete them. The National Probation Service has set national standards but these are applied inconsistently. The Ministry's current method of funding Probation Areas is unsatisfactory and slow to respond to changes in demand from the courts and it is felt that there is a need for a more flexible system. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Committee examined the Ministry of Justice on increasing effectiveness of community orders; building the confidence of both the court and the community in community orders; improving the funding formula; and tightening adherence to the requirements of orders.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215561664
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 52
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Book Description
The Efficiency and Reform Group (the Group) was established within the Cabinet Office in May 2010 to lead efforts to cut government spending by £6 billion in 2010-11. Its long term aim is to improve value for money across government by strengthening the central coordination of measures to improve efficiency. The imperative to make savings in the short term has involved the Group imposing new controls on departments, such as moratoria on certain expenditure. Sustained efficiency improvements, though, will need a much deeper change to both the culture and institutional structure of government. The Group also needs to clear up confusion over who is accountable for what in terms of improving value for money, especially in defining its responsibilities and those of the Treasury and individual departments. The Group's actions have resulted in efficiency savings of £3.75 billion across departments in 2010-11. It should continue to describe any future spending reductions accurately and explain any impact on services. The scale of the challenge to deliver efficiencies is huge: the Government intends that half of the £81 billion reduction in spending planned over the next three years should come from efficiencies rather than through cuts to services or delays to important projects. Many of the efficiencies must be achieved in areas where the Group currently has a limited influence, or by local bodies, where it has none. The Group should set out how it will operate to ensure that its approach can be replicated across the wider public sector.
