Efforts to rationalise the size of local government's property estate are to be stepped up, to meet Treasury demands. The Department for Communities and Local Government is among Whitehall departments backing the High Performing Property initiative, which will rationalise the number of government properties, in a bid to save more than £1bn. Treasury officials say the five-year programme, which will be run by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), said the aim was to create a more demanding and intelligent government client which will require accommodation solutions that provide greater flexibility and adaptability. The focus will be on improving space utilisation and maintenance of robust data on a building by building basis, to achieve quality decisions on the management and use of their estates. It was a key recommendation by Sir Michael Lyons in his December 2004 report Towards better management of public sector assets. He said: ‘I am very encouraged with the progress being made by the OGC to deliver stronger central management of the government civil estate. ‘Improved management and use of property assets by departments and their agencies and sponsored bodies offers the opportunity to realise significant savings, service improvements and better working conditions.' For further information go to www.ogc.gov.uk
