4.54 The availability of good information about the performance of property should allow the setting of tailored "intelligent" targets to achieve a more efficient and effective estate. This information would enable HM Treasury to allocate funding so that it rewards good performance and encourages departments to invest in a more efficient estate.
4.55 The central property function would advise on the setting of intelligent targets and help develop the necessary benchmarks and performance standards. It should work closely with HM Treasury teams, providing information and expertise, so that the targets could be incorporated into departmental spending plans.
4.56 The central property function should set clear guidance to improve the quality and consistency of information about public sector property. It should help define and monitor the collection and publication of certain minimum information to ensure an accurate government- wide picture of the public sector's property and to assess performance. This would include:
• information, based on common definitions, about property holdings and running costs, to encourage greater transparency;
• information about all property held, showing for each asset whether it is "core"and must be retained, "surplus" and will be disposed of in future or "intermediate" where a final decision on its future use is pending;
• performance of property against key indicators including benchmarks (by type of property);
• goals and objectives for the next one to three years including plans showing how and when performance benchmarks would be achieved; and
• a clear demonstration that sustainability, productivity, service quality and other related issues are integrated into plans for property management.
4.57 The role of the central property function in monitoring data and setting guidance would be adapted for the wider public sector to take into account the degree of independence that such organisations have from their sponsoring departments. It would also ensure that, as far as possible, there is consistency and comparability across the public sector, and that data burdens are minimised.
4.58 However, it is clear that there is a need for better data within the wider public sector too, and for the use of benchmarks to be made more consistent and widespread. Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) would be a useful mechanism to drive this. For local public services,40 benchmarks could be linked with the "use of resources" assessments carried out as part of the new inspection regime for local government - which requires the Audit Commission to inspect against the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).41
4.59 In addition, the collection and publication by the wider public sector of information about core, surplus and intermediate assets, supported by CIPFA, should help to promote shared approaches to the use of property.
4.60 These different sources of information, once aligned, should provide local authorities with an integrated and comprehensive source of support to ensure that property is efficiently managed. This in turn will increase accountability within local government, raise standards and - through more efficient use of property - improve outcomes at local level. Local authorities should consider, together with their partners, using such data to develop local targets for improving asset management.
| Recommendation 4.4: The public sector should be more consistent and transparent in the data it collects and publishes in relation to property management and usage. In particular organisations are encouraged to publish information about the core, surplus, and intermediate property assets held. All local public services should also be encouraged to follow best practice and use the audit agencies' value for money indicators, which should be closely linked to the Audit Commission's 'use of resources' assessment. |
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40 In this report local public services are defined as those subject to inspection by the Audit Commission.
41 The new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), implemented in April this year, as part of a new inspection regime for local government, includes a "use of resources" assessment, as part of which a score is assigned to local partners for the quality of their management of assets. The CAA also takes account of how local partners have been working together to deliver their Local Area Agreement (LAA). See www.audit-commission.gov.uk