Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to review the pension age for prison officers.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Prison Officers are members of the Civil Service pension scheme, which is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office has no current plans to review the pension age for prison officers.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the current average public sector office space in square meters per full-time employee.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The State of the Estate report is published annually and provides information on the efficiency and sustainability of the central civil estate. Further details on use of office space is available in Chapter 3 of this report and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-report-2016-to-2017
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the running costs of the government estate for 2018-19; and what those costs were in each of the last three years.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The operating costs of the central estate, as reported in the State of the Estate report, were £2.57 billion in 2016-17, £2.55 billion in 15-16 and £2.7 billion in 14-15. This shows a reduction of 7.5% in real terms in the preceding three years.
The State of the Estate report is published annually and provides information on the efficiency and sustainability of the central civil estate. Further details on the operating costs of the government estate are set out in chapter 2 and Appendix D of the following:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-report-2016-to-2017
Previous versions of the report can be found using the following web links:
2015-16: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-report-2015-to-2016
2014-15:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-2014-to-2015
The work on the State of the Estate 2017 - 2018 report is ongoing.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the public sector estate was vacant as of 1 May 2018.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Total vacant space for 2016-17 was 1.5% of the total Central Estate as per the State of the Estate report. The government vacancy rate remains 6 percentage points less than the private sector average of 7.5% and in the last four years, has fallen by 40% compared to a fall of 26% in the private sector average, reflecting better use of the estate
The State of the Estate report is published annually and provides information on the efficiency and sustainability of the central civil estate. Further details on vacant space is available in Chapter 2 of this report and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-report-2016-to-2017
The work on the State of the Estate 2017 - 2018 report is ongoing.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the public sector estate is in London.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
London accounted for c.20% of the Central Estate, as per the State of the Estate report 2016-17. The size of the overall Central Estate has decreased by over 1.3 million m2 in the last four years.
In the long term, the London Estate could see a reduction in civil servants through the gradual relocation of public service into other regions. This will drive further efficiencies in London and also support economic growth in other parts of England, supported by the Government Hubs programme facilitating moves to more modern and efficient buildings.
The State of the Estate report is published annually and provides information on the efficiency and sustainability of the central civil estate. Further details on the location of the government estate are set out in chapter 2 of the following:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-estate-report-2016-to-2017
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the central government estate is based in city centres.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government property database does not contain classification using city centres.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all government property has a record on e-PIMS; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
e-PIMS is a comprehensive electronic register of all central government property holdings, including information about requirements for new accommodation, and vacant and surplus properties. Bodies are responsible for entering complete and accurate information about all the properties they use and control on e-PIMS, and complete an annual verification process to confirm they have done this. Regular data quality assurance and sample checks are also carried out by the Office of Government Property.
Providing property information is mandatory for all:
- government departments
- non-ministerial departments and their executive agencies
- arms length bodies
- non-departmental public bodies
- special health authorities
Mandatory recording of information on e-PIMS does not apply to local authorities, the NHS (except for Special Health Authorities), public corporations, privatised railway undertakings, the Crown Estate; the Overseas estate or the Defence Estate (subject to some exceptions).
There are some other exclusions from e-PIMS, such as information about certain highly specialist properties (e.g. flood defences, pipelines, wayleaves and easements).
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent from the public purse on developing and improving government properties with the intention of adding value prior to a sale since October 2014.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Office of Government Property does not collect this information.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Government's Estate Strategy of October 2014 on localism.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The 2014 Government Estate Strategy (which can be found here; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/360262/Government_estate_strategy.pdf) represented a leap in the scale of our ambition - with commitments that recognised the potential of our estate to become a platform to deliver better integrated public services and economic growth across the UK. As an example, the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, which brings together all public sector bodies within a locality to develop a radical new approach to managing their land and property. OPE has grown from a pilot working with 32 councils in 2014 to a national programme supporting 319 councils - over 90% of councils in England - to deliver better integrated, customer-focused services, local growth and efficiencies.
To date, these partnerships have secured £94m in capital receipts, £20m savings in running costs, over 5,700 jobs and releasing land for 2,800 homes. We have also facilitated over 80 public sector co-locations, responding to local demands to bring services together under one roof.
Recognising the need to boost local economies further, the Government also remains committed to relocating public bodies and Civil Service roles out of London across the United Kingdom. As such, the Cabinet Office has established the Places for Growth programme. This aims to drive the delivery of our commitment to move arm’s length bodies and some departmental activities outside of London and the South East to help promote growth in the regions and nations of the UK.
The 2018 Government Estate Strategy, due for publication later this year, will continue to ensure our policies drive growth and opportunity across the UK and provide a Government Estate that works for everyone.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria his Department is using to assess the effect of The Way We Work programme on wellbeing in the civil service.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Delivery of the Way We Work (now Smart Working) initiative is with individual departments. As a consequence tracking any wellbeing benefits would be at department level and are not collected centrally.