Member News
3rd February 2011
More effective public services can be provided through efficient use of local government buildings, the communities secretary has said.
At the launch of Leaner and Greener: Delivering effective estate management,a Westminster Sustainable Business Forum report, Eric Pickles praised the findings, which he claimed "played to my prejudices".
Pickles emphasised the central theme of the report; the use of fewer local government buildings to provide a more readily accessible and coherent approach to public services.
This approach was the correct one, he argued, for both fiscal reasons and customer efficiency. He said: "A sensible use of public money demands that we do start to share public buildings and to offer better service to the public."
"What is vital is ensuring that someone who wants help, wants assistance and wants advice goes to one location," Pickles added.
"It doesn't matter whether it's the Health Service or the police. It doesn't matter whether it's the district or the county – why should the public have to take a basic lesson in civics just to know which location to go to?" he asked.
And the communities secretary noted the potential savings to be made from the downsizing of local government estates.
He said: "Every council could save millions by managing their properties better; using the money to protect frontline services or keep council tax down."
Hosting the launch was Matthew Hancock MP, chair of the public accounts committee. Hancock outlined the work of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum in researching and compiling the report.
The West Suffolk MP said: "When I, and the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum, started to speak to local authorities six months ago, the results were a surprise to me."
"We found that the best local authorities have reduced space by up to a third. What really surprised me was that they all reported that when this happened, they felt this improved the services that were delivered," he said.
This was due to a greater sense of teamwork, fostered by more centralised access to facilities, Hancock argued.
Also speaking at the launch, attended by a cross-party group of parliamentarians, was Councillor Randal Brew, the cabinet member with responsibility for finance on Birmingham City Council.
Brew highlighted the successes of Birmingham, home to the biggest local authority in Europe, in implementing reductions in its local government estate.
"We are saving money, which is fantastic for the taxpayer in these tough times. Even more importantly, we are equipping staff with a more pleasant working environment, from which they can provide better services," Brew said.
Article Comments
Shut town halls . . ? Why not mirror report advice and move the Houses of Parliament?
The Leaner and Greener report advised that local authorities should move to greener more sustainable office space to save cash and public sector jobs. But does the report go far enough?
Property owner Marchday agrees with the reports findings but want the Government to consider taking up its recommendations itself.
It costs a staggering 208,000,000 pounds a year to run the House of Commons alone - so by relocating the functions of the Palace of Westminster thousands of jobs could be saved.
Marchday thinks that by closing the doors and relocating, the Government could make massive savings on the cost of running the establishment as well as providing a greener alternative.
The same premise applies to Government as to local authorities - and the functions of the House could easily be accommodated on our huge 107 acre award-winning sustainable development Lingfield Point in Darlington, County Durham.
Marchday thinks that the House of Commons should be up for sale on behalf of the people of England.
The 208million pounds for the eight acres of accommodation, operating costs and security does not include MPs salaries or administration costs.
John Orchard, of Marchday said: "The Palace of Westminster functions as a giant office space with meeting rooms and chambers.
"It is very costly to run and maintain. Obviously there are cheaper places to be based -for example Lingfield Point - which is an award-winning sustainable business park that offers everything needed to run the country efficiently and cost effectively.
"Despite the fact that Government has commissioned two reports into devolving civil service jobs to the regions very little changed as a result. (The Lyons Report and the Smith Review, the Lyons Report alone cost 2.22m pounds)
"News reports make it clear how hard some of the poorest areas of England will be hit by the planned spending cuts and this is a great opportunity to resurrect this idea.
"The Government is asking everybody else to face the harsh realities that cuts will bring and it needs to take a top-down lead by example approach.
"Office space at Lingfield Point is available at 10 pounds per sq ft compared to the average of 35 per sq ft in London. The North East has a work-ready army of skilled people and logistical and transport links to Europe that are the best in England.
"This isn't about making political points- it is a moral issue - we want the people in charge to think about the human cost of the proposals on the table and how easily some of the effects could be mitigated," said Mr Orchard.
Savings would be ongoing and long term and include benefits such as reducing environmental impact, reducing sickness, the fact that running and maintaining new facilities is cheaper and the fact that people work better in clean fresh and well-designed buildings.
Sophie OMahony
4th Feb 2011 at 12:24 pm
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