바카라 사이트 Property 2015: Francis Maude speech
The Minister for Cabinet Office spoke at the '바카라 사이트 Property 2015: the next 10 years' conference in London.
We바카라 사이트檙e just a stone바카라 사이트檚 throw from Parliament Square and I바카라 사이트檓 reminded of Winston Churchill바카라 사이트檚 remark concerning the rebuilding of the House of Commons, following its earlier destruction in the Blitz, when he said 바카라 사이트渨e shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us바카라 사이트�.
He was of course referring to role that the cramped and rectangular design of the Commons Chamber plays in creating confrontational and intense debates 바카라 사이트� and it바카라 사이트檚 true: I바카라 사이트檝e been an MP for more years than I care to remember, but I still feel the same mix of anticipation and excitement and a bit of fear every time I rise to speak in the Commons.
But Churchill바카라 사이트檚 point is just as applicable in other places.
We바카라 사이트檙e here to discuss the future of property management in government and the wider public sector, and it바카라 사이트檚 about much more than just the bricks and mortar. It바카라 사이트檚 about the entire way we work, it바카라 사이트檚 about the kind of services we provide to the public and it바카라 사이트檚 also a reflection of the times we live in.
Five years on from the Great Recession, public spending is tight and it바카라 사이트檚 going to continue to remain tight. It바카라 사이트檚 essential that we continue our efforts to cut the cost of government and focus resources on frontline services.
And that바카라 사이트檚 why the government estate has been, and will remain, an important part of our long term economic plan.
Achievements in this Parliament
It바카라 사이트檚 worth reminding ourselves how far we바카라 사이트檝e come over the course of the current Parliament.
Five years ago, government departments would take on expensive new leases, even though freehold properties owned by the government were lying underused just a few hundred yards away.
Now, by getting out of unnecessary leases and selling vacant buildings, we바카라 사이트檙e saving hundreds of millions in yearly running costs and we바카라 사이트檝e generated billions in capital receipts.
Five years ago, there was quite simply no coordinated approach to government property, there wasn바카라 사이트檛 even a pretence of one.
Now, we바카라 사이트檝e established a firm grip on the estate, with a comprehensive database of our property backed by a strong, credible and increasingly respected 바카라 사이트 Property Profession.
And 5 years ago government was sitting on acres upon acres of vacant land that businesses and local communities were desperate to put to good use.
Now we바카라 사이트檙e releasing more and more of that land back to communities, so they can use it to stimulate regeneration and growth, and to create new homes and new jobs.
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Thank you
So the first thing I바카라 사이트檇 like to do is thank all those who바카라 사이트檝e played a part in transforming the public sector estate.
This includes first and foremost the 바카라 사이트 Property Unit, and if I could single out Bruce Mann who we asked to take on leadership of this function across government in addition to his day job as Finance Director at the Cabinet Office. He바카라 사이트檚 brought real leadership to it 바카라 사이트� energy, focus, drive 바카라 사이트� and has actually got this moving forward with great pace and purpose.
I look at the things we바카라 사이트檝e achieved in this time and I바카라 사이트檓 proud. Property is actually one of the areas where we바카라 사이트檝e gone further and faster than I would have thought possible.
But there have been so many other people who바카라 사이트檝e contributed to this success as well, including committed officials from departments. When you try and do anything across government there is a pattern you observe: initial scepticism that you mean it at all; when it becomes clear that you do mean there바카라 사이트檚 then resistance; then it becomes a tired resignation; and then at some point you start to mobilise some energy and enthusiasm as people begin to see that there may be something in this after all.
We got to that point remarkably quickly, which is why we바카라 사이트檙e making so much better progress than we might have expected. Again, that바카라 사이트檚 about quiet persuasion and leadership from the centre.
So lots of officials from departments have entered into this with enthusiasm, from local authorities and public bodies who have worked across different areas to make this possible.
Those combined efforts have helped to save billions for the taxpayer.
A lot of our efficiency savings are played out in the realm of spreadsheets and budgets although they always represent real folding money savings that can be reused for the benefit of the public. But in the world of property your achievements are tangible and visible.
You can notice the difference you바카라 사이트檝e made when you walk through a government building and see civil servants from different departments working side by side, or when you see the scaffolding and cranes appear around a former government property paving the way 바카라 사이트� sometimes literally 바카라 사이트� for new offices and new homes.
Next Parliament
We can take pride in this, but there바카라 사이트檚 a lot more to do. Public spending isn바카라 사이트檛 going to ease up any time soon.
We바카라 사이트檙e already on track to meet our target of 10 square metres of space per full-time employee by the end of 2015. And we바카라 사이트檒l continue to reduce the amount of office space down to an average of just 8 square metres by the end of March 2018.
We think this new target will be the most efficient space standard for the public sector anywhere in the developed world.
Further disposals
Consolidating government buildings has released 拢1.4 billion in capital receipts and has reduced annual running costs by 拢625 million over the Parliament.
We announced in the Autumn Statement plans to save between 拢5 billion and 拢6 billion through further disposals of buildings no longer needed between now and 2020.
I recently moved house, to downsize now all my children have left school and are increasingly leaving home. And I바카라 사이트檝e come to realise that rationalising the government estate is a bit like clearing the attic 바카라 사이트� the deeper in you go, the more things you discover that people have hung on to down the years.
Actually there is a very good rule. If after 6 months you don바카라 사이트檛 notice that you haven바카라 사이트檛 got something you probably don바카라 사이트檛 need it.
So our future plans include the sale of landmark buildings like Sunningdale Park, the former Civil Service College, which will be on the market soon.
We will also consider the benefits and costs of the relocation of the museum collections currently housed at Blythe House in Kensington 바카라 사이트� a 5 acre site in central London 바카라 사이트� together with disused airfields and army barracks, surplus prisons and long-abandoned government laboratories where we can build the homes of the future.
In the next Parliament we바카라 사이트檙e going to manage the government바카라 사이트檚 property portfolio with an even keener eye on the market value of the land and property we hold. And it바카라 사이트檚 not just about maximising the proceeds, we have to look also at the economic upside of releasing the property where others can use it more productively than the government can.
And we will work with the private sector to find the best model to dispose of those leasehold buildings in a way that gets good value for the taxpayer, but always having in mind the economic upside as well as the short term exchequer proceeds.
Right to Contest
So our efforts over the past few years have marked a permanent change in how we manage property.
It바카라 사이트檚 time to stop thinking of government and local authorities as owners of land and buildings. The true owners are the public. Departments and local authorities are really just custodians on their behalf.
Through Right to Contest](/right-to-contest) we바카라 사이트檝e given the public the ability to hold our feet to the fire on this, by challenging us to release land and property for sale if we cannot justify keeping hold of it.
Take Dulwich Hospital as an example 바카라 사이트� it has a long history of under-use and has apparently been closed for 20 years. Now, through Right to Contest, at long last almost all of the site has been declared surplus to requirements and will be released 바카라 사이트� why did it take 20 years?
We바카라 사이트檝e also created a 바카라 사이트 Property Finder website, which maps and lists assets within the government estate, making it easier for people to find details of land and property available for sale or to let, and to help them challenge us to release further sites under Right to Contest.
One Civil Service hubs scheme
We바카라 사이트檒l also better use the property that remains in the government estate.
During the times of plenty, departments have developed a kind of territorial claim to their own buildings and offices, as if they were independent functions. It바카라 사이트檚 always worth remembering that departments of state have no legal standing at all; the only entities that have any legal standing are the secretaries of state. Departments are merely a passing administrative means and there certainly not meant to be independent fiefdoms. They바카라 사이트檙e all part of the same government. And from the public바카라 사이트檚 perspective, it doesn바카라 사이트檛 matter which department delivers a service 바카라 사이트� what matters is that the service is does what it바카라 사이트檚 meant to do in a way that바카라 사이트檚 cost effective and hassle-free.
Look at what we바카라 사이트檝e done with the 바카라 사이트바카라 사이트檚 web presence바카라 사이트oving from over 300 different websites often given conflicting advice to a single web domain, 바카라 사이트. It바카라 사이트檚 award-winning and world leading. People can find what they want in once place quickly and conveniently 바카라 사이트� and with a substantial cost saving over what went before.
That바카라 사이트檚 why we바카라 사이트檝e brought an end to expensive vanity buildings. Because separate offices can create administrative barriers as well as physical ones. People start thinking in silos and becomes more difficult to work together.
In the next Parliament, we will continue to bring departments closer physically together to encourage closer, smarter and more effective working across government.
I saw what this benefit can bring when I visited the Temple Quay Campus in Bristol in June last year. Twenty-eight different government agencies are sharing the same newly designed office space, ranging from the Insolvency Service and Care Quality Commission to Ofsted and English Heritage.
In this Parliament we have brought the number of properties in central London down from 143 in 2010 to just 71 today and we바카라 사이트檙e planning to reduce this to just 23 sometime soon after 2020.
The cost of space in Whitehall remains expensive. The Ministry of Defence바카라 사이트檚 Whitehall headquarters costs 拢35,000 per person compared to a 拢3,000 a year for a Home Office employee based in Croydon.
So we will also continue to expand the One Civil Service hubs scheme, which is already saving money and could save billions of pounds more.
The way we work
But our property reforms are about more than just saving money. It바카라 사이트檚 about changing the way we work.
Civil servants should be able to work flexibly across locations that are convenient to them and their managers and, most importantly, convenient to people using public services.
Technology has changed massively over the past few decades, but the public sector has been slow to adapt its management approach.
Companies like BT, Vodafone, Microsoft and Virgin have cast aside outdated ways of working with impressive results.
Working more flexibly, if done right, can increase productivity, bring down costs and increase staff wellbeing.
The Ministry of Justice has been experimenting with new office layouts and testing tablets and laptops, so that staff can work across different locations or respond to emails while on the move.
We바카라 사이트檝e recently introduced new technology to the Cabinet Office and DCMS. People are able to choose their own equipment.
You바카라 사이트檝e all heard of ministerial red box 바카라 사이트� this iPhone is now my ministerial red box. I can deal with submissions not by trying to find a key to the box or lugging this wretched steel thing around but quickly, on my iPhone.
Our mantra: technology for civil servants at least as good as the technology you use at home. It doesn바카라 사이트檛 sound that demanding does it? But my god, it is바카라 사이트� One civil servant in the Cabinet Office said of the new technology: 바카라 사이트淔or the first time I feel valued as a civil servant. Instead of the crap they normally give us, they바카라 사이트檝e given us something really good.바카라 사이트� I found that really heart-warming.
Too often civil servants have felt the conditions and the tools with which they work have inhibited them. 바카라 사이트 property was too spread out, under-invested, under-maintained and too dispersed. So bringing it together with better technology, and nicer offices is about helping civil servants who want to do a good days work do just that.
We바카라 사이트檝e also provided flexible office space within the M25 to provide alternatives for headquarters staff who would otherwise need to commute into central London.
The Ministry of Justice have already been able to reduce their London estate from 18 buildings to 4, saving 拢30 million a year.
The rest of government needs to do the same, which is why departments have started smarter working strategies through the Way We Work programme.
One Public Estate
For the same reasons, we will also continue to increase cooperation between central government and the wider public sector. In 2013 Cabinet Office and the Local 바카라 사이트 Association came together to launch the One Public Estate programme.
The idea is simple. If government departments can get out of their silos and work together to share property, save money, improve services and release land for redevelopment by working more closely together, then surely central and local government can do the same?
We바카라 사이트檝e already shown that this has massive potential.
In the first year of the pilot, projected savings in running costs are 拢21 million, with 拢88 million in capital receipts. Worth getting out of bed for.
We forecast that the land and property released for new uses will lead to the creation of 5,000 jobs and the building of around 7,500 new homes over the next 5 years, with total benefit to local economies estimated at 拢40 million.
In the next Parliament, our projection is that this programme could save up to 拢160 million in running costs and bring in up to 拢700 million in capital receipts, as well as 拢320 million in further long term benefits to local economies, potentially releasing land for 60,000 new homes and create 44,000 new jobs.
This is significant. There is benefit on all sides from doing this and we need to go for it with energy and drive and enthusiasm.
And of course every pound saved is a pound that can be invested back in front line services. So in Hull for instance, the city council were able to reduce the number of properties they owned from 43 to 29. They then used the savings to pay for a new Customer Service Centre.
That바카라 사이트檚 allowing different parts of government to work more closely together 바카라 사이트� and the result is more comprehensive, more convenient services for the public.
In Ellesmere Port, for instance, they are seeking to locate DWP바카라 사이트檚 Job Centre alongside other local customer services within a council building.
The 바카라 사이트 Property Unit has also been working closely with 6 public sector partners across the West Midlands as they look to form of a joint property management company, the first of its kind in the UK.
The One Public Estate Programme has been created to deliver a more cost efficient and customer-focused public estate and the work in the West Midlands is a perfect example of how this aspiration can be realised. I look forward to seeing the programme gather momentum and provide an example for others to take forward.
Growth
This work is also helping local authorities to release land back to the community.
I바카라 사이트檓 told there are several examples 바카라 사이트� Bromsgrove and elsewhere 바카라 사이트� where our mapping has shown that some two-thirds of town centre property is in the hands of the public sector.
We can바카라 사이트檛 allow a lack of coordination within the public sector to hold local economies back. It doesn바카라 사이트檛 need to be like this. The state can help, rather than hinder, economic growth.
In Leeds, the One Public Estate programme made possible a city centre regeneration for the Victoria Gate retail scheme which created nearly 1,000 new jobs, and included the largest John Lewis store in the north of England.
We estimate that the total land released through our disposals programme and the One Public Estate programme is enough to build 100,000 homes. A big contribution to meeting our housing shortage.
The pilot involved 12 local authority areas but September last year, I announced a further 20 areas were joining the programme.
In the next Parliament we바카라 사이트檙e going to extend it to all local authorities who wish to participate, so together we can deliver greater savings, more new homes and more new jobs.
Today I바카라 사이트檇 like to invite local authorities with great ideas for how central and local government can work together to the benefit of the taxpayer to get in touch with us at the 바카라 사이트 Property Unit.
바카라 사이트 Property Profession
Now in order to bring about this scale of transformation, we must ensure we have the necessary capability in government, both in terms of structures and people.
We바카라 사이트檝e already brought together over 100 previously separate property management teams into 8 clusters, centred on a coordinating department.
That means they can share purchasing power and specialist skills providing a better and more cost effective service. It바카라 사이트檚 a tighter model that will cut the cost of property management and help us to work more closely together.
But we바카라 사이트檝e also got to get better at managing talented people, so we can direct their expertise to where it is needed most.
Since it was established in 2010, the 바카라 사이트 Property Profession has been working to improve the capability of property professionals working in government, providing a consistent approach to professional standards, recruitment and career management across government.
It바카라 사이트檚 part of our wider work to strengthen Whitehall바카라 사이트檚 corporate centre by embedding strong functional leadership, in property and in other cross-government professions like commercial, digital, HR, communications, major projects, finance and internal audit.
Our goal is to be a leading organisation in the eyes of property professions in both the public and private sectors.
As of April 2015, continuing professional development will be mandatory. Through strong links with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the British Institute of Facilities Management, we are able to provide excellent training and development opportunities.
Through these actions we바카라 사이트檙e delivering a clear signal. We바카라 사이트檙e saying that property is a profession that we take seriously in government. We value these skills, we need these skills, and if you have the qualities we need then are fantastic career opportunities available for you in government.
We바카라 사이트檙e never going to be competitive in terms of what we pay compared to what people could earn in the private sector. What we can do is provide the opportunity to be part of historic change.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, we can be proud of the changes we바카라 사이트檝e made to property management.
We바카라 사이트檝e literally changed the face of Whitehall, reshaping the government estate to be more cost-effective for the future, saving millions for the taxpayer.
We바카라 사이트檙e creating flexible, modern workplaces that help public servants do their jobs in the best way possible.
And in doing so, we바카라 사이트檝e set off a wave of redevelopment, giving rise to new offices and new homes, and to more jobs and stronger growth.
But there바카라 사이트檚 more to do. There always will be. This will always be a work in progress. Because this is more than a one-off exercise to save money.
It바카라 사이트檚 an exciting opportunity to contribute to the creation of more integrated and unified public services, more focused towards the needs and expectations of the people who use them 바카라 사이트� and that바카라 사이트檚 what matters most of all.