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Advisory Panel Meeting - January 2000

Information Note No: 1/2000 January 2000

Advisory Panel Meeting 14/01/00

A meeting of the CAU Advisory Panel was held on Friday 14th January in Queen's Court.Those present were:

The topics discussed were as follows -

1. Minutes of the previous meeting (11/06/99) - developments have occurred in regard to several of the topics discussed at the previous meeting -

• Disposal of Surplus Land - current guidance in both GB and NI recommends that disposing bodies apply for planning permission where the property being disposed of has development potential. This guidance is now being called into question because of a more rigorous planning regime which is making it considerably more difficult for all applicants.The public sector is further disadvantaged in this respect by having no right of appeal and it is consequently harder to get the planning permissions which current guidance recommends are obtained.
• CAU has recently met with the Planning Service HQ to discuss this issue but no satisfactory answer has so far been found and it may be that our guidance will have to be changed to reflect the new realities of the situation i.e. sales of surplus land with development potential would be carried out without any attempt by the public sector to obtain planning permission - "planning risk" is therefore transferred to the developer but the public sector could still participate in the development via some sort of profit sharing arrangement such as clawback.
• Further discussions with the Planning Service HQ and Departmental Solicitors will take place shortly and revised guidance will be issued as necessary. (this topic was subsequently raised with our colleagues in GB and there is a recognition that any revisions to guidance should be at a national level)
• Estates Services Guide (3rd Edition) - the NI adaptation of this very useful but GB-based guide has been completed by CAU but is with Departmental Solicitor's Office for scrutiny of the various legal and statutory variations from GB. We would hope to launch the NI version of the ESG in the early part of the new business year.
• Training Events - CAU has a business plan commitment to provide or facilitate estate management training for the NI public sector. As part of this programme two half-day seminars on fraud awareness have been arranged in Belfast for 21st and 22nd February.

2. Property Performance Measurement and Benchmarking - a presentation was given on this topic (copies of the slides and related papers are available on request from CAU). Various forces are combining to emphasize the importance of property performance measurement. In GB the Property Advisors to the Civil Estate (PACE) are forming a benchmarking club of public sector occupiers. They have recently sent out invitations to join this club plus forms of return in respect of the buildings occupied. The proposal is to run a trial in respect of space measurement looking at ratios such as persons and vacancy per net internal area.

We would encourage all office occupiers to consider participating in this exercise. In the medium term CAU would hope to facilitate the formation of an NI benchmarking club, on the basis that local comparisons should be of more relevance to local property centres. This view was endorsed by the Advisory Panel members and CAU will shortly be writing to all property centres setting out its proposals.

3. Resource Accounting - property is, in many cases, the largest element to be accounted for and all occupiers should now be in a position where their property information systems enable such accounts to be completed. We would anticipate that the new NI ministers will take a keen interest in their property portfolios and how they are accounted for, hence there will be an even greater need for good property information systems and good property strategies. In GB it is already the case in the NHS that no property strategy = no property funding.

4. Procurement - there have been two recent GB reports on this subject, "Review of Civil Procurement in Central Government" by Peter Gershon and the "2nd Review of PFI" by Sir Malcolm Bates. The Gershon report defines "procurement" as "the whole process of acquisition from third parties ..... and covers goods, services and construction projects. This process spans the whole life cycle from initial concept and definition of business needs through to the end of useful life of an asset or end of a services contract". The report highlighted the uncoordinated and inconsistent practices in much public sector procurement. One of the main recommendations for addressing these problems was the creation of the Office of Government Commerce(OGC). The report has been accepted in full by the Government and the OGC will be formed by an amalgamation of various departments (including PACE/CAU(GB), CCTA and The Buying Agency) commencing 1/04/2000.

The Bates 2nd review found encouraging progress in PFI over the two years since the first review but weaknesses remained, particularly in regard to project management, strategic planning and financial disciplines. The review therefore recommended that the skills provided by the Treasury Taskforce (created following the 1st review with a 2 year life span) should continue to be used. The policy arm of the Taskforce will be absorbed into the OGC whilst the projects arm will become a public/private partnership to be known as "Partnerships UK". The latter will have a private sector majority shareholding and will compete for PFI consultancy work on the "strength of its offer". This could involve providing development funding in the early stages of PFI projects.

In NI a draft report on procurement by Capita is now being considered. It is envisaged that a supervisory body will be created to oversee and cooordinate local procurement. The possible savings from new procurement policies are likely to raise the profile of this issue on the local political scene.

5. CAU Website - the panel were given a brief demonstration of a working model of a CAU website. The idea is obviously both to provide an on-line advice service and to improve efficiency in those work areas which lend themselves to electronic commerce e.g. links to other sites providing property-related advice. As we move towards final design of the site and publication on the web all suggestions from potential users will be welcomed.

6. AOB -

• Abolition of CILOR (Contribution in Lieu of Rates) - from 1/04/00 all Crown occupied properties will no longer pay CILOR but will pay rates in the normal way. A separate CAU Information Note on this subject will be issued shortly.
• New Panel Members - with the changes in departmental structures it may now be appropriate to consider the composition of the Advisory Panel. CAU will write shortly to all Permanent Secretaries to establish whether any other property centres should be represented on the Panel. Due to a retirement the Education & Library Boards were not represented at this meeting.
• Guest Speakers at Future Panel Meetings - CAU will take forward this suggestion. A contribution from Departmental Solicitors on the issue of "clawback" may be appropriate in regard to the next panel meeting (probably in June).
• Property Market Information - VLA publishes or contributes to several reports on the local property market and it was suggested that any significant findings from these reports be presented at Panel meetings. This will be actioned from the next meeting onwards.

For further information regarding any of the topics discussed or any other aspect of CAU's role in public sector estate management contact David Collins at ph. 028 9054 43884 or e mail: dave.collins@dfpni.gov.uk.