It’s amazing to think we are one month into 2023 already - hence timely to reflect on the early openings of the year but also consider how this is likely to shape the remainder of the year. Grant Thornton UK attended the Government Property Conference on 11 January 2023, hosted by central government and attended by organisations across both the public and private sector.
The headline attendee was the Government Property Agency (GPA), who discussed at length the release of the Government Property Strategy in September 2022, the continued focus on delivering the aspiration of “one public estate”, and being able to do this with one voice alongside all departments across central government.
This eight-year strategy is designed to provide a long-term view of how public estate should be transformed and used to deliver wider government priorities with a focus on the customer. There is an ambitious disposals programme that sets to generate £800 million in funds per annum to help finance wider ambitions, all underpinned by stronger use of data and recognising the need to use the strategy to unlock a greener government.
Ultimately this could be described as "smaller and better and greener" which became the strapline of the day.
What are the critical success factors for this strategy?
Despite being only released in September 2022, stakeholders are already raising the key question of delivery speed and whether the strategy is robust enough in its current form to enact change at an accelerated pace, to deliver and unlock the benefits targeted. From this we noted the following key factors discussed at length by panellists.
Support from the private sector
A range of private sector organisations spoke during the day from across construction management, FM operations and land management – noting that a collaborative approach is needed and the private sector need to share more of what they do in B2B scenarios (with private sector customers) to allow true commercial value to be generated. This indicated a willingness from the private sector to share ideas from across the sector and not to see government as a public sector customer – but simply a customer.
The ‘customer’ under the microscope
Interestingly, there was a clear reference to 'customer', not 'end user', and a desire to move away from describing operational service under the traditional hard and soft FM banners, to instead think about services in more accessible language such as customer experience, safety and innovation. This is about shaping the service around what the customer wants rather than an inward-looking lens of what the building needs from a pure facilities management perspective.
The asset base as a catalyst to levelling up
The shift of Whitehall, to 16 hubs across the UK, shows a continued commitment to use government property as a ‘booster-shot’ to economic growth in a wider area, with the latest deal being announced of part of the Home Office going to Stoke-on-Trent. Government property remains an asset in the truest sense which can act as an enabler to delivering this policy on the ground.
What is needed on the ground?
The benefits of an eight-year strategy is that time can be taken to deliver the attributes required to make this a reality. This includes:
- From a quantitative perspective, strong analysis in the form of clear appraisals underpinned by robust financial modelling will be needed to understand what is surplus to requirement and what assets have value which is yet to be unlocked.
- The economic impact assessment should be considered around the wider benefits versus the cost of the property. It is vital to make the right decision on property in areas that typically suffer from under-investment and are tailor-made for consideration as part of the levelling up policy.
- Business cases that can withstand scrutiny and have been through rigorous financial due diligence – after all a lot can happen in eight years…
What next?
In summary the conference pushed forward a stronger idea of a smaller, better and greener agenda with a focus on:
- A collaborative approach that uses the strengths of the public and private sector to accelerate delivery of the strategy
- The whole estate and avoiding a piecemeal approach
- Preparation of business cases that leave no stone unturned
For further information on how we can support you in these ambitions, please contact Wayne Butcher or Brian Ng.
