Improving the efficiency of central government's office property

The background to this NAO report is a renewed focus on the contribution that office property can make to improving government efficiency. The Government's civil property estate has an estimated worth of £30 billion and costs around £6 billion to run presenting significant opportunities for savings. This NAO report seeks to add impetus to the Office of Government's Commerce (OGC) initiative to save up to £1.5 billion through an annual efficiency saving by 2013. This report presents a consolidated view of the performance of central government departments' UK office property. The assessment is based on 16 Government departments', with a detailed review of departments' office strategies and planning processes. Divided into five parts, it covers the following areas: the importance of office property; an analysis of central government's spending; departmental property asset management; the role of the OGC in improving government's value for money; the potential efficiency savings from improving the performance of office property. Among the recommendations, are: Departments should have better data on the efficiency of individual buildings; Departments should actively engage wit the OGC's benchmarking service for the efficiency performance of buildings; Department's can achieve cost savings by locating in less expensive regions.