News

The State of the Estate 2009 report reveals a huge annual reduction in size of the civil estate and significant efficiency savings

Released on 18/03/2010

Ian Pearson, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has today welcomed the publication of the second annual report on the management of the civil estate.  The report demonstrates the achievements made over the last year to reduce the costs and environmental impact of the Government’s estate. The size of the estate has been reduced by over 660,000 m2 or the equivalent of over 150 football pitches.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) report The State of the Estate highlights the achievements made in efficiency savings over the year. It also details departments’ progress on sustainability, and on meeting the expected annual efficiency savings from the estate of up to £1.5 billion by 2013.

Speaking about the publication Ian Pearson said:

"The Government is serious about effectively managing the civil estate. This State of the Estate Report 2009 is significant as it charts the progress that has been made in reducing the size of the civil estate and the savings for the taxpayer.

"The real cost of running the estate, taking account of inflation, is estimated to have fallen by 17%, equivalent to a reduction of approximately £740 million since 2003/04. The government estate is also now performing better than the private sector in a number of key areas.

"The scale and complexity of our challenge is huge because of the size of the estate, nevertheless the achievements made over the last year to reduce the costs are remarkable.  When combined with delivering long term environmental impact benefits, it is clear that this Government is on course to meet the challenging goals it has set itself."

Data shows only 2.2% of office space has currently been identified as vacant, a figure that is six times better than the national average for the private sector, and building costs per square metre are on average 18% better than private sector benchmarks.

The report also identifies areas for improvement, for example in meeting workspace benchmarks in the many buildings on the estate, where age, historical significance, or configuration pose potential barriers. Despite this, significant progress is reported in the reduction in average workspace use which at 13.1 square metres per person has come down by 10% since last year and is now comparable to average private sector use.

On carbon emission reduction, the government is making good progress but recognises that there is still more to do in 2010/11 to improve the Display Energy Certificate (DEC) ratings of buildings on the government estate.  William Jordan, the government’s Chief Sustainability Officer based in the OGC said:

"Real improvements have been made this year to the efficiency and the sustainability of the Government's central civil estate. I am very grateful to all those who have helped realise these improvements. Next year, we will be working hard in OGC to improve further the quality of the data we hold for Government, which is the absolute foundation of all our work to improve the estate. We will push on next year towards the achievements of the new benchmarks for space occupancy set in Smarter Government, and the Government's longer term goals for the energy efficiency of the estate."

See OGC website for report.

About OGC

The OGC is an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help government deliver best value from its spending. The OGC works with central government departments and other public sector organisations to ensure the achievement of six key goals:

• Delivery of value for money from third party spend;    
• Delivery of projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits;   
• Getting the best from the government's £30bn estate;   
• Improving the sustainability of the government estate and operations, including reducing carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2010-11, through stronger performance management and guidance;   
• Helping achieve delivery of further government policy goals, including innovation, equality, and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs);   
• And driving forward the improvement of central government capability in procurement, project and programme management, and estates management through the development of people skills, processes and tools.

OGC provides policy standards and guidance on best practice in procurement, projects and estate management, and monitors and challenges departments' performance against these standards, grounded in an evidence base of information and assurance. It promotes and fosters collaborative procurement across the public sector to deliver better value for money and better public services; and it provides innovative ways to develop government's commercial and procurement capability, including leadership of the Government Procurement Service.

Media contact:
Michael Dunning, Media Relations Manager, OGC
T: 020 7271 1318
M: 07771 815245
E: michael.dunning@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

Contact details:
OGC Service Desk
Tel: 0845 000 4999
E-mail: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk