Search Results for: government

July 13, 2013

UK government falling behind in plans to modernise its workplaces

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Flexible working, Public Sector

The UK government has conceded that it is falling significantly behind in its plans to create a modern workplace involving a more flexible working environment for public sector employees. The plans were outlined in the Civil Service Reform Plan a year ago with the aim to create a “decent working environment for all staff, with modern workplaces enabling flexible working”. However, a report released this week by Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude confirms that the plans are now rated red, meaning they are significantly delayed or off track and that there is now a great deal of work that needs to be done to meet the stated aims of the plan. While some departments have made good progress, there is little cross-government work to meet the demands of the Government’s commitment.

July 11, 2013

NAO confirms £1billion saving through better Government purchasing practices

by Mark Eltringham • News, Products, Public Sector

While it’s always wise to be wary of claims made by government departments, the National Audit Office has continued to display its ongoing love of the sterling work of the Efficiency and Reform Group set up by the Cabinet Office by confirming that the department’s claim that over £1 billion has been saved through better UK government purchasing practices is perfectly true. The ERG said that savings had been achieved primarily by centralising spend on common goods and services and introducing policies requiring departments to purchase less stuff in the first place. Savings were noted across the board including in civil service departments, local government, the emergency services and National Health Service. As ever the NAO added a caveat to its endorsement. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: ‘While ERG has undoubtedly achieved significant savings for the taxpayer, in future it could spell out more clearly the different types of savings that are included in its claims. Our report makes detailed recommendations which will help ERG to strengthen its assurance of savings claims in future.’

July 5, 2013

UK’s superfast broadband arriving very slowly, claims government report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new report from the National Audit office claims that the much vaunted roll out of superfast broadband to 90 percent of UK households is now two years behind schedule. The programme, seen as vital for the uptake of flexible working in rural areas, is now scheduled for completion in March 2017, around 22 months later than planned. The reasons identified by the NAO for the delays include six months awaiting EU approval along with a range of issues with the procurement of services including those related to the three key principles established to ensure the cost-effectiveness of the programme: the competitive framework; cost transparency; and the terms of supplier contracts. The NAO report claims that of these only the final principle is still functioning. BT is now the only bidder to provide services as others withdrew and it has failed to be sufficiently transparent about its costs.

July 4, 2013

Government public sector construction reforms net £447 million in savings

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Public Sector

Reforms to strip out inefficiencies in public sector construction – including the use of building information modelling (BIM) and the creation of a sustainable supply chain have generated £447 million in savings and will deliver up to 20 per cent savings in project costs by 2015, Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith has announced. By making links across departments the Government has also been able to act as a single customer to the construction industry and provide clear benchmarks for budgets by setting out the average price it expects to pay for projects. The Government has now published a new set of benchmarks that are designed to drive down project costs even further and encourage the industry to offer more competitive and innovative solutions. More →

June 25, 2013

UK Government announces details of One Public Sector Estate scheme

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Cabinet Office has announced details of a new pilot scheme covering 12 local authorities in England which will encourage councils to work with central government departments and other bodies to share buildings and re-use or release property and land deemed surplus to requirements and so cut spending and free up land for local development. The ‘One Public Sector Estate’ scheme will also enable councils to share services and follow the path of central government which has its own schemes to cut costs and divest or find new uses for its property portfolio. Chloë Smith, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office who will be delivering the scheme in partnership with the Local Government Association, also believes the scheme will boost the UK economy and encourage regeneration and development at a local level.

June 17, 2013

Sickness absence rates stall, despite employer and government efforts

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Workplace

Progress in reducing sickness absence has stalled in the UK, despite a growing number of companies initiating return to work interviews, line manager training, setting stretching absence targets and providing employees with occupational health and wellness initiatives. The 2013 EEF/Westfield Health Sickness Absence survey, found that longer-term sickness absence is increasing (40 per cent) rather than decreasing (24 per cent) and that employers have lost faith the government’s flagship ‘fit note’ programme is getting people back to work. The three most popular health and well-being employee benefits are health screening/health checks (56 per cent), access to counselling or employee assistance programmes (EAPs) (54 per cent) and subsidised private medical insurance (40 per cent). More →

April 17, 2013

Government approach to efficiency yields savings, but is it sustainable?

by Mark Eltringham • News, Public Sector

A new report from the UK’s National Audit Office (NAO)has praised the work of the Efficiency & Reform Group (ERG), part of the Cabinet Office in delivering over £5 billion of savings in central government but has challenged the ERG to make them sustainable over the longer term to meet the Government’s target of making annual savings of £20 billion by 2015. The NAO report welcomes the achievements of the ERG so far but expresses its concerns that many of the savings had been achieved with quick wins related to the renegotiation of existing contracts, staff cuts and the cancellation of marketing budgets, which had already begun to tail off.

March 20, 2013

Government should engage suppliers to address green supply failings

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Products, Public Sector

The UK’s National Audit Office has published a new report on the Government’s record on sustainable procurement which suggests that policy has focussed on cost savings and budget cuts at the expense of sustainability. The briefing document on sustainable procurement is a response to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee and paints a clear picture of the conflict between two key areas of economic policy which many experts argue should go hand in hand when managed intelligently. However a sign of the Government’s priorities may have been clear when the Cabinet Office abolished the post of Chief Sustainability Officer and close the Green Government Unit in 2011.

March 18, 2013

New procurement systems to make it easier to bid for Government work

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector, Technology, Workplace design

The Cabinet Office has unveiled a new centralised system that it claims will make it easier and cheaper for suppliers to compete for government and public sector work because they will only have to register once to have access to a range of contracts. Currently, suppliers to government and the public sector have to register on several systems to be able to view, access and tender for business opportunities. The Cabinet Office believes the new system will be particularly attractive for SMEs who found the current system too onerous. The system will replace an existing system which serves over 80,000 registered suppliers and the same number of customers

March 13, 2013

UK Government reports £1 billion sale of unwanted properties

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

The Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has claimed that central Government departments in the UK have now raised more than £1 billion by selling unused property since 2010. He also claimed that government departments have saved an additional £168 million with the termination of leases on unwanted buildings. The landmark figure was reached with the sale of St. Dunstan’s House (above), formerly home to the Ministry of Justice to Taylor Wimpey who will be converting the site into – what else? – a residential project of 76 apartments designed by David Walker Architects.

March 5, 2013

UK central government fails to increase spending with SMEs

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Public Sector

The Cabinet Office has published figures for how much the UK’s central government departments spent on products and services from small and medium enterprises during the year 2011/2012. The low key announcement slipped under the radar for many people, possibly because the figures indicate that the government is very unlikely to hit its target of spending a quarter of its total expenditure with SMEs in the course of this parliament. While it’s inevitable that large areas of government spending are unsuitable for supply from smaller businesses, the Cabinet Office will be concerned that the current total of 10 per cent is way short of its expectations.

February 22, 2013

US Federal government confirms green-building requirements

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, Property, Public Sector

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A new study prepared for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) by the National Research Council has given the seal of approval on the importance of green-building certification programs as tools to reduce energy use and other operational costs. “This reaffirmed what we’ve been saying all along – that LEED makes good economic sense,” said Fleming Roberts, Associate, Policy & Advocacy at the US Building Council. “The report recommended that the Department of Defense should require its new buildings or major renovations to be designed to achieve at least LEED Silver certification.” More →