Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
6
Conclusion
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Wo…
Deferred
The rationale for the creation of the Government Property Agency was that by taking over the management of all government office buildings it would lead to co- ordinated decision-making and efficiency savings. But with the departments with the biggest office estates remaining outside the GPA’s control, the Government is potentially …
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The rationale for the creation of the Government Property Agency was that by taking over the management of all government office buildings it would lead to co- ordinated decision-making and efficiency savings. But with the departments with the biggest office estates remaining outside the GPA’s control, the Government is potentially missing out on opportunities to bring together different public bodies and optimise the location of its office estate. To help ensure joined up decision- making across government, it should be a requirement for every accounting officer, before approving any major property consolidation or relocation proposal, to obtain assurance that their officials have explored opportunities to co-ordinate location and design decisions with the Government Property Agency, in its management of the office portfolio. The Cabinet Office should work with HM Treasury to develop this guidance for accounting officers, and write to us within six months to confirm the results.
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Government response AI summary
The government committed to publishing 'relevant programme documentation for Places for Growth and the Plan for London,' but did not commit to developing the specific guidance for accounting officers as recommended.
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8
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Wo…
Deferred
In its response to this report the Cabinet Office should write to us with a definitive statement of government policy on the flexibility civil servants should have on how often they work in the office. Within the same period, the Cabinet Office should write to us with a clear statement …
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In its response to this report the Cabinet Office should write to us with a definitive statement of government policy on the flexibility civil servants should have on how often they work in the office. Within the same period, the Cabinet Office should write to us with a clear statement on what size of headcount reductions the Government is modelling, in what timescale this is intended to be achieved, and what impact this will have on departments’ requirement for office space. Until the GPA has greater certainty over departments’ workforce plans and demand for office space, it should review whether to proceed now with those Hubs currently in the planning stage, and not actively plan for any additional Hubs.
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Government response AI summary
The government states it will publish relevant programme documentation for Places for Growth and the Plan for London, but does not provide the requested definitive statements on office working flexibility or clear details on headcount reductions and their impact on office space.
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9
Recommendation
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Wo…
Deferred
The Cabinet Office has provided a plausible explanation for the GPA’s practice of charging departments rent on offices which the Government owns and has no intention of selling. This answer emphasises the value for money which the GPA is able to secure by acting as office property manager for multiple …
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The Cabinet Office has provided a plausible explanation for the GPA’s practice of charging departments rent on offices which the Government owns and has no intention of selling. This answer emphasises the value for money which the GPA is able to secure by acting as office property manager for multiple departments. As this value depends on scale, it is important that individual departments stay within these arrangements, rather than trying to find better deals from commercial landlords on a local basis. Nevertheless, to tie departments into these arrangements successfully, the GPA needs to be able to demonstrate that it is providing value for money. The Government Property Agency should commission an external review, to publish within twelve months, of the value for money of the service which it is providing to departments in return for its rental charges. (Paragraph 68) Civil service culture and people: Implications of the relocation agenda
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Government response AI summary
The government stated it will publish relevant programme documentation for Places for Growth and the Plan for London, which does not directly address the recommendation to commission an external review of the GPA's value for money.
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14
Conclusion
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Wo…
Deferred
Recruiting staff to regional offices has the potential to open up the civil service as a career to a wider number of people. This can have benefits both for civil servants (enabling them to pursue a career in government without necessarily having to move to London) and for government policy …
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Recruiting staff to regional offices has the potential to open up the civil service as a career to a wider number of people. This can have benefits both for civil servants (enabling them to pursue a career in government without necessarily having to move to London) and for government policy (if it leads to greater understanding within departments about the differing needs of local communities). The Government’s thinking about how to achieve these benefits appears unclear, however. In particular, there is a risk that in viewing certain communities outside London as being more representative of the country as a whole, the Government is stereotyping communities outside the capital as all being essentially the same and all being radically different to the varied communities in London, overriding local differences in needs and interests. It remains to be seen how HM Treasury’s Darlington Economic Campus will improve policy-making for the remainder of the country.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged that the issues raised are a difficult area, referencing the Minister's prior evidence session, but did not commit to any specific actions or provide further clarification.
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15
Conclusion
Eighth Report - Where Civil Servants Wo…
Deferred
The previous system of Government Offices for the English Regions received some criticism at the time for not sufficiently doing bottom-up policy-making for the regions they were based in. However, there was at least a comprehensive structure in Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the future of the Government’s estates …
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The previous system of Government Offices for the English Regions received some criticism at the time for not sufficiently doing bottom-up policy-making for the regions they were based in. However, there was at least a comprehensive structure in Where Civil Servants Work: Planning for the future of the Government’s estates 51 place, in which the same government departments were represented in each region, as a scaled down version of Whitehall for local areas. The Government’s current approach to the Places for Growth and Government Hubs programmes is much more haphazard. Without a clearer rationale for why a particular function has been relocated to a particular regional Hub, the Government increases the risk both that its programmes will fail substantially to influence policy-making and that a future government may reorganise or reverse what it has done.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged that the issues raised are a difficult area, referencing the Minister's prior evidence session, but did not commit to any specific actions or provide further clarification.
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