Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
Government’s plan to reduce the operating costs of the government estate is not sufficiently ambitious.
Conclusion
Government’s plan to reduce the operating costs of the government estate is not sufficiently ambitious. The Cabinet Office could not tell us if the government’s current operating cost to property value ratio is a good one. In 2020–2021, the operating cost for central government property was £22 billion which on a valuation of £158 billion is 13.92%, which is higher than we expect. This includes rent for leasehold property, as well as maintenance costs and other expenses. The new government property strategy announced plans to save £500 million on its annual operating costs by 2025, roughly a 2% reduction. Cabinet Office officials told us that the target was a cautious one and more savings may be found. For example, £8 billion per year is spent on facilities management. The Cabinet Office has recently issued new requirements for facilities management contracts which it expects to lead to improved contracts and better value for money.
Government Response Summary
The government will reduce the size of the government leasehold estate through the government Hubs programme and greater sharing of space across the public sector to achieve £500 million operating cost savings per annum by the end of the Spending Review period.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. departments that are published annually in the State of the Estate Report. The Government Property Strategy 2022 sets a target of £500 million operating cost savings per annum by the end of the Spending Review period. It is expected that this target will be achieved primarily from reducing the size of the government leasehold estate, including through the government Hubs programme, greater sharing of space across the public sector and exploiting the benefits of smarter working. The 2023 State of the Estate Report will set out what savings have been made in the first six months of the Strategy (from September 2022 to March 2023). Treasury Minutes Archive3 Treasury Minutes are the government’s response to reports from the Committee of Public Accounts. Treasury Minutes are Command Papers laid in Parliament. Session 2022-23 Committee Recommendations: 204 Recommendations agreed: 184 (90%) Recommendations disagreed: 20 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number July 2022 Government response to PAC reports 1, 3 & 10 CP 722 August 2022 Government response to PAC reports 2, 4-8 CP 708 September 2022 Government response to PAC reports 9, 13-16 CP 745 November 2022 Government response to PAC reports 11, 12, 17 CP 755 December 2022 Government response to PAC reports 18-22 CP 774 January 2023 Government response to PAC reports 23-26 CP 781 February 2023 Government response to PAC reports 27-31 CP 802 Session 2021-22 Committee Recommendations: 362 Recommendations agreed: 333 (92%) Recommendations disagreed: 29 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number August 2021 Government response to PAC reports 1-6 CP 510 September 2021 Government response to PAC reports 8-11 CP 520 November 2021 Government response to PAC reports 7,13-16 (and TM2 BBC) CP 550 December 2021 Government response to PAC reports 12, 17-21 CP 583 January 2022 Government response to PAC reports 22-26 CP 603 February 2022 Government response to PAC reports 27-31 CP 631 April 2022 Government response to PAC reports 32-35 CP 649 April 2022 Government response to PAC reports 36-42 CP 667 July 2022 Government response to PAC reports 49-52 CP 722 Session 2019-21 Committee Recommendations: 233 Recommendations agreed: 208 (89%) Recommendations disagreed: 25 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number July 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 1-6 CP 270 September 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 7-13 CP 291 November 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 14-17 and 19 CP 316 January 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 18, 20-24 CP 363 February 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 25-29 CP 376 February 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 30-34 CP 389 3 List of Treasury Minutes responses for Sessions 2010-15 are annexed in the government’s response to PAC Report 52 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number March 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 35-39 CP 409 April 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 40- 44 CP 420 May 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 45-51 CP 434 June 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 52-56 CP 456 Session 2019 Committee Recommendations: 11 Recommendations agreed: 11 (100%) Recommendations disagreed: 0 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number January 2020 Government response to PAC report [112-119] 1 and 2 CP 210 Session 2017-19 Committee Recommendations: 747 Recommendations agreed: 675 (90%) Recommendations disagreed: 72 (10%) Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number December 2017 Government response to PAC report 1 Cm 9549 January 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 2 and 3 Cm 9565 March 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 4-11 Cm 9575 March 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 12-19 Cm 9596 May 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 20-30 Cm 9618 June 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 31-37 Cm 9643 July 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 38-42 Cm 9667 October 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 43-58 Cm 9702 December 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 59-63 Cm 9740 January 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 64-68 CP 18 March 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 69-71 CP 56 April 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 72-77 CP 79 May 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 78-81 and 83-85 CP 97 June 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 82, 86-92 CP 113 July 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 93-94 and 96-98 CP 151 October 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 95, 99-111 CP 176 January 2020 Government response to PAC reports 112-119 [1 and 2] CP 210 Session 2016-17 Committee Recommendations: 393 Recommendations agreed: 356 (91%) Recommendations disagreed: 37 (9%) Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number November 2016 Government responses to PAC reports 1-13 Cm 9351 December 2016 Government responses to PAC reports 14-21 Cm 9389 February 2017 Government responses to PAC reports 22-25 and 28 Cm 9413 March 2017 Government responses to PAC reports 26-27 and 29-34 Cm 9429 March 2017 Government re