Search Results for: government

UK public sector spends twice as much on outsourcing as the private sector

by • Facilities management, News, Public Sector

WhitehallThe UK’s public sector spends almost twice as much on outsourced services as the country’s private sector, according to research from the Information Services Group. The study claims that the total contract value of public sector outsourcing agreements over the last two years was £51 billion, compared with £30 billion for the commercial sector. In that time, a total of 585 public sector contracts were awarded. Although volumes are lower than those of the commercial sector (726 contracts), this number represents nearly a threefold increase in public sector activity since the pre-recessionary period (2006-2007). While the commercial sector has seen a shift toward smaller contracts over the past two years, the public sector has seen a reduction in the number of smaller contracts, from 46 percent of the market in 2010-2011, to 40 percent. While the number of large contracts remains steady, growth in the sector is largely driven by contracts valued at between £15 million and £30 million.

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Mace to oversee Old Admiralty refurbishment for DfE occupation

by • Company news, News, Public Sector

Old admiralty building refurbishmentAs a direct result of the Cabinet Office’s programme to consolidate and modernise the government estate, the Grade II listed Old Admiralty Building is to be designed and refurbished for the Department for Education (DfE).  Mace is to oversee the project, which will see the modernisation of 18,000 sq. metres of office space to provide space for over 1,600 staff, who are currently working in leasehold accommodation. Old Admiralty Building (OAB) is currently occupied by staff from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, who as part of the estate rationalisation strategy, will be consolidated into the Foreign Office’s King Charles Street Office in 2015. Refurbishment work is targeted to commence at the OAB late in 2015, following a design procurement process, including liaison with Westminster City Council planning and English Heritage, with the project due for completion in 2017. More →

Mental health friendly workplaces will lead to a state of wellbeing says report

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Make workplaces mental health friendly to create a state of wellbeingMaking places of work mental health friendly with government leading the way as an employer is one of the key recommendations of a landmark study on the state of mental health in England published today. Concluding the 12 month study on the state of wellbeing in England the CentreForum Mental Health Commission report reveals that mental health related sickness absence and lost productivity costs business up to £23.5 billion annually, and says that government must take the lead in tackling this problem by ensuring all public sector enterprises become mental health friendly employers. It also urges organisations with more than 500 employees to work towards that status. The Commission says the “pursuit of happiness” must become an explicit and measurable goal of government if the £105 billion annual cost of mental illness in England is to be reduced and identifies five key priorities between now and 2020. More →

Green building design ‘goes mainstream’ in major US cities

Green building design ‘goes mainstream’ in major US cities

by • Architecture, Environment, News, Property, Workplace design

Green building design

Minneapolis – the home of US green building design

It’s not just Europe that is experiencing an explosion of interest in green building design. According to a new report from CBRE and Maastricht University, the past ten years have seen a transformation in the way the US corporate real estate market approaches the environmental performance of buildings. According to the National Green Building Adoption Index for 2014, produced by CBRE there has been a remarkable increase in the  application of green building standards in the thirty most important regional commercial property markets in the US. Based on data from the US Green Building Council,  the number of office buildings which are LEED* or Energy Star** certified has surged since 2005. The proportion of LEED certified buildings in America now stands at 5 percent, up from under 0.5 percent over the course of the survey period. The total proportion  of office space which now has some form of green accreditation is just under a fifth.

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The latest issue of the Insight newsletter is available to view online

by • Newsletter

The latest edition of the Insight newsletter is now available to view onlineIn the latest copy of the Insight newsletter; Gavin Bradley explains how a new campaign could help reduced the ill health that is caused by spending too much time sitting and Professor Franklin Becker of Cornell University asks why do many corporates invest millions in their workplaces and not bother to measure results? Paul Statham, the MD of Condeco urges the Government to act on the growing issue of wasted commercial property space in Greater London and Bostjan Ljubicis, the VP of Steelcase UK and Ireland argues the physical workplace can provide an environment in which people can thrive. In news; research shows around a third of all BYOD activity is invisible to the IT department and in the week that the right to request flexible working is extended, we reveal how flexible hours could help reduce the number of people who admit to have pulled a ‘sickie.’ We also include a link to the new issue of Work&Place, the journal we publish in partnership with Occupiers Journal.

Executive search firms launch new code of conduct to support women on boards

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Executive search firms' new code of conduct to support women on boardsAn Enhanced Code of Conduct for executive search firms to support more women appointments to FTSE 350 boards has been announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable. Over 70 firms signed up to the original voluntary code of conduct launched in 2011. In response to the independent Sweeney review in February 2014, the search industry has now developed a new Enhanced Voluntary Code of Conduct, which builds on the terms of the standard voluntary code and is intended to recognise the efforts of search firms working to build the pipeline of FTSE board directors of the future. The Code was drawn up by the search firms themselves working with the Davies Steering Group. It contains 10 new provisions, from launching initiatives to support aspiring women to sharing of best practice and running awareness programmes within their own firms. More →

Five things we have learned about flexible working ahead of the new right to ask regs

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

flexible workingYou can’t help but notice that surveys about flexible working have been pretty thick on the ground over the last few weeks and months. The reason is that – as well as the usual ongoing fascination with the subject – the UK Government is extending the right to request regulations at the end of this month, allowing all staff to ask their employers for flexible working after six months in a job. As well as the numerous studies that firms have commissioned to explore the issue, there has been even more commentary and guidance, often from law firms. While we should always view each of these in context, adding however much salt we deem necessary to season their findings, what is always interesting when you have a media pile-in like this is to sift through it all to look for patterns, common themes and contrasts. Here are just five:

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UK businesses have mixed attitudes to flexible working, according to two new studies

by • Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

Flexible working City of LondonThe mixed attitude of businesses towards flexible working generally – and a new tranche of UK regulation in particular – is evident in two new studies. While a Citrix survey found that under half of small and medium sized business owners support the new flexible working legislation due to come into force at the end of this month with even fewer seeing it as a positive development, another study by recruitment consultants Robert Half found that two-thirds of large financial services firms use flexible working as a way of attracting and retaining employees. According to the report, this is particularly important in The City right now because  many prospective employees are put off by the poor image of the financial services industry and so firms are keen to make themselves more attractive employers so are turning to flexible working and better workplaces to entice high-grade staff.

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Lack of joined up thinking hampers efforts to reduce commercial property energy consumption

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

SunriseA new report commissioned by the Green Construction Board, Property Industry Alliance and UK Government claims that efforts to tackle energy consumption in commercial property and reduce the associated emissions of greenhouse gases needs a new approach to the way policies are understood, monitored and enforced. The warnings come in a paper produced by Deloitte which suggests that while the associated potential for savings and a wide range of environmental and economic benefits are beyond question and the Government has the will to make them happen, there is a lack of cohesive thinking in current policies and legislation coupled with a shortfall in innovation and investment. When the report was commissioned last year, it was done so on the basis that buildings remain the UK’s largest contributor to carbon emissions, with energy use in non-domestic buildings accounting for 17 per cent of the total.

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BRE launches new business assessment and certification scheme for BIM

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

BIM Level 2The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has developed a new scheme for assessing and certifying businesses as providers of the Government’s BIM Level 2 services.  Delivered on site, it is designed to help companies provide evidence that they have the policies and procedures required to deliver level 2 BIM in line with the Government’s strategy, as well as acting as a strong marketing tool. The scheme is available for businesses and comprises evidence-based assessment of BIM business and management systems in line with Level 2’s process requirements. Those that successfully meet the criteria are awarded Certificated BIM Capability Assessment status by BRE Global, the BRE Group’s independent certification body. The process includes providing businesses with a full post-assessment report that details areas of compliance and, if applicable, non-compliance. A yearly site audit and review is performed to verify that standards and criteria continue to be met, with a full reassessment carried out every three years.

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Public sector procurement skills at heart of updated UK Civil Service plan

by • Knowledge, News, Public Sector, Technology

Public sector procurementThe UK Civil Service has outlined the latest developments in the way it procures goods and services as part of its updated Civil Service Plan for 2014/15. These include a fresh take on the way the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) function operates with private sector firms. This is seen as an essential part of the new form of public sector procurement within the context of a Civil Service which ‘understands the private sector and can work confidently with them, whether purchasing goods and services through complex procurement or learning from them to enhance customer service’. The new approach to public sector procurement will be built on a range of new management skills and schemes to recruit new types of managers which will allow Government departments to share ideas and best practice and collaborate more effectively with suppliers and consultants.  The document also emphasises the expansion of digital capabilities of the public sector services as a way of working with private forms and individuals.

Attitudes towards flexible working still at odds with needs of modern life, claims report

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible working fatherThere is still a stigma attached to flexible working and employers are still reluctant to offer it to staff, according to a survey of UK employees carried out by parenting website Netmums and charity the Family and Childcare Trust. According to a third of just under 1,800 respondents, there remains a degree of resentment from work colleagues towards those who  enjoy some form of flexible working. And, while, 80 percent of people think it is very important that employers offer flexible working to staff , a mere 15 percent feel it is offered in practice and another 20 percent have no idea whether it is available to them or not. The result is a mismatch between the desires and expectations of individuals and the reality of working life with the upshot that nearly a third (29 percent) of respondents claim to have left a job because they were unable to balance it with other aspects of their lives.

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