Government Departments: Property

(asked on 14th May 2019) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used to evaluate whether Government-owned land and property should be made available for purchase.


Answered by
Oliver Dowden Portrait
Oliver Dowden
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
This question was answered on 22nd May 2019

Where a Government asset no longer serves a public purpose, or that purpose can be
more efficiently realised through its transfer to private or non-government hands, a
Government Department or Arm’s Length Body may choose to sell that asset

The disposal of individual sites is a matter for each Department or Body. It is the role of the
Accounting Officer to ensure this represents value for money and is achieved in line with the Green Book, Managing Public Money and the Guide for Disposal of Surplus Land.

Departments are expected to identify land as surplus where it is no longer required for operational
purposes. Managing Public Money states that Departments should dispose of surplus sites within 3
years. In 2017 the Office of Government Property published the Guide for the Disposal of Surplus
Land, providing detailed guidance on how to plan for and execute land disposals

As part of the Government Estate Strategy 2018, the Office of Government is leading on a
Government commitment to release £5 billion land and property in 2015 - 2020.

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