Recommendation 9

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