Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement.

Since 2010, the Department has had considerable success in reducing the cost of its wider estate through the rationalisation of retained office space and targeted building disposals. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries, generating net savings in the period of around £7 million per annum. The Department has also successfully sub-let surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by around £6.5 million per annum.

Building on this success, in 2013-14, we have secured further savings of £4.6 million by subletting further space in Eland House in London ahead of vacating the building in September 2014. The move from Eland House to 2 Marsham Street will reduce my department’s running costs by £9 million a year from 2015-16. Overall, these changes will save taxpayers a total of £220 million over the lifetime of the building’s lease commitments.

This illustrates the scope for local government and, indeed, the public sector as a whole to make sensible savings through better property management.

In June 2013, supporting the Prime Minister’s commitment to support the development of small and medium enterprises, the Department agreed terms with business incubator providers to take vacant space at 2 Rivergate House in Bristol and Bridge House, Guildford. This is an important part of the Government’s drive to assist the start-up and small and medium enterprises business and we are also working with the Government Property Unit on potential Government Space for Growth opportunities in other properties held by DCLG.