Advisory Panel Meeting June 1999Information note: 3/99 June 1999 Advisory Panel Meeting 11/06/99 A meeting of the Advisory Panel meeting was held on Friday 11th June in Queen's Court. Those present were:
The topics discussed were as follows - 1. CAU Business Plan 1999/2000 - reflects renewed emphasis on meeting the demands of resource accounting including the timing of asset valuation cycles and the maintenance of property information systems. The Unit will carry on assisting property centres to further develop their property strategies. 2. Acquisition of Land by the Public Sector - CAU had been conscious of a possible need for guidance in this field and this has been reinforced by the current DETR review of compulsory acquisition law in GB. The latter is due for completion later this year and will result in the production of a new user's manual. This manual will ultimately have to be modified for use in an NI context and CAU will have a role to play in this. In the meantime the Unit will keep property centres informed of developments. Another aspect of acquisition by public bodies is the requirement to justify operational need and, having done so, find the funds to proceed. This is an area which has caused some problems in public sector transfers of surplus land and emphasizes the need for constant review of property strategy. New guidance from CAU may be required but ongoing revisions to the Estates Services Guide and the NI Preface to the Green Book (see below) should also contribute to developing best practice. 3. Disposal of Surplus Land - revised guidelines were issued in February and have been well received. The Crichel Down rules which have,since the 1950s, governed procedure on offering surplus land back to former owners are being reviewed in GB and CAU will advise property centres on any NI implications once this review has been completed. The Panel briefly discussed the issue of "clawback" clauses (see Section 20.0 of the Disposal Guidelines) with the general view being that they can often be counter - productive. However,in the current rapidly rising market some means of protecting the public interest needs to be found in sales of land with development potential. One possible alternative to clawback would be to initally market an option to purchase with the balance of the market value being estimated and paid on completion. CAU is still deliberating on this issue and any comments from property centre managers would be welcomed. 4. Property Centres in the proposed new NI Government structures - the prospect of existing departmental portfolios being sub-divided has a number of implications, particularly in regard to property information systems and up-to-date asset valuations. New Ministers will expect to know what property holdings their departments hold and what these are worth. CAU will provide advice on any property issues arising out of the restructuring. 5. Training and Development - estate management training is one of the key areas of the new CAU business plan and the Unit is aiming to meet any training needs which arise from the government restructuring and from initiatives such as Investors in People. Amongst the topics currently being considered for course provision are fraud awareness, developing a property strategy and the use of the new Estates Services Guide (see below). Any suggestions from Property Centres will also be welcome. 6. Performance Measurement - this is a topic which is coming more to the fore in estate management. Essentially property centres need to know how their operational portfolios are performing in terms of efficiency of provision. Performance measures can then be used to establish benchmarks which can be compared with other similar portfolios. This in turn leads to informed judgement on matters such as which properties are "underperforming" and are therefore possible candidates for refurbishment or disposal. OAB,who are responsible for virtually the entire NICS office estate,have started to collect data on beacon properties and are planning to co-operate with the Office of Public Works in Dublin. NIHE are another possible member of this embryonic benchmarking club and CAU is keen that this potentially valuable aspect of property strategy is developed further. 7. Revision of the GB Estates Services Guide - the 3rd version of this very comprehensive guide is currently with the printers and will issue shortly in GB. CAU adapted the earlier versions for NI use and intends to do the same with this one. This adaptation work has been anticipated but further discussions,particularly with Departmental Solicitors Office, will be necessary and the NI version is unlikely to be ready before the autumn. Panel members agreed on the value of this guide and the feeling was that the NI version could this time be launched with a higher profile than before, perhaps including seminars on how to get the most out of the guide. 8. Revision to the NI Preface to the Green Book - DFP Economics Division are currently co-ordinating an updated version of the NI Preface. New guidance on PFI will be included but the basic thrust of the current version will be unchanged. CAU will consider the issue of an associated information note at the appropriate time. 9. Proposed CAU Website - CAU hope to establish a website later this year. This will be a further means of disseminating information and advice. Use of the website and e mail in the clearing house of surplus public sector land will also be explored. 10. AOB - CAU Information Note February 1999 on Schedules of Dilapidations has now been issued |
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