Welsh Goverment Estates article with cover

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BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

OCTOBER 2013 ISSUE 190

OCTOBER 2013

WELSH GOVERNMENT

WORKING FOR A FAIRER AND PROSPEROUS WALES

A PROUD SAFETY RECORD

PRIDE (SERP) LTD NORLAND MANAGED SERVICES EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE, EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE

GOING FOR GOLD AT THE

ROSPA AWARDS

STILES HAROLD WILLIAMS

MAKING PROPERTY WORK

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GOVERNMENT SECTOR: WELSH GOVERNMENT

WORKING FOR A FAIRER AND PROSPEROUS WALES THE WELSH GOVERNMENT IS WORKING TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IN WALES AND MAKE WALES A BETTER PLACE IN WHICH TO LIVE AND WORK

fter 1999 and through the initial period of devolved government in Wales, the number of property assets within the administrative portfolio (those offices that house civil servants) increased substantially. It was a continuous and often piecemeal growth as the organization expanded and functions were inherited. The outcome was a primarily Cardiff-focused estate with other buildings in numerous locations across Wales, some 98 properties in total.

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This growth finally abated and the last decade has seen the number of Welsh Government properties decrease substantially. The scaling down was necessary to enable the Government to meet its key challenges of improved efficiency and sustainability. Head of Property Division Sioned Evans recalls: “We used to have an impractical spread of assets and services, which meant that we had an estate

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that was simply not suited to the delivery of a central government function. As you merge organizations, it is important to develop and embed a central corporate envelope around both standards of accommodation and the way of working. This was very difficult to establish with such a diverse estate.

It was quite unwieldy and inefficient.”

Along with the large portfolio came a number of different supplier FM contracts. Sioned comments: “At one point, we had some109 different contracts in operation. It was unsustainable and we worked hard to reach our present position of one national hard FM contract plus six or seven regional soft ones. We took the decision to award the new contracts very seriously, acutely aware that to do otherwise could detrimentally affect local people and companies. There were concerns that the local involvement would be lost and so we took a lot of time to ensure that, where we could, we made the most of local opportunities.”

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ESTATE RATIONALISATION In 2003, the Location Strategy Programme was established with the aim of transforming the Welsh Government from being predominantly Cardiffbased to a situation that is better dispersed across Wales. Key to this strategy was the delivery of new buildings in Merthyr Tydfil, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction, which opened in 2006, 2009 and 2010. “Having successfully established those buildings, we looked at how we could rationalise the remainder of the estate and direct both staff and resources towards the new buildings,” recalls Sioned. “It was important to ensure that we developed a dispersed estate, suited to supporting the business of government, in the right location, but with fewer buildings which were substantially improved in both quality and performance.”

In 2010, the Welsh Government agreed to build on the positive impact made by these new offices.

The resulting Location Strategy 2 programme

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(2010-2015), which is linked to five clear geographical areas, has to date delivered an estate that comprises 33 office buildings (plus eight specialist properties) amounting to some 93,000 square metres of internal space, valued at £92 million and housing about 5,300 full time equivalent staff as at July 2013.

The strategic aim has always been to deliver an estate that provides the very best environment for both staff and customers in order to provide the best platform to deliver public services. The expectation is that, by 2015, the Welsh Government will operate from thirteen core bases. Work is now underway to explore further phases that may, from 2015, reduce that number further. The Location Strategy is on course to deliver impressive gross

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aggregated savings of around £18 million over its five year period and annual recurrent cost saving of £5.3 million. As Sioned points out, “This is a circa 30% reduction in our annual occupancy cost for the estate.”

The Location Strategy aims to deliver increased efficiency and effectiveness for both the estate and government operations. All buildings are subject to a three-pronged approach that aims to maximise their useful lives, retain any value invested and assist in the enabling of the rationalisation plan. In the current financial climate, it is particularly important to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

Sioned says: “We’re investing to save so, while there is a requirement to refurbish and to upgrade,

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there are significant long term savings attached, both financial and environmental. What we have done for some time is to focus on those buildings that we have identified within the location strategy as being long term holdings. We don't refurbish properties due for disposal although we ensure that they remain compliant, comfortable and safe. Our budgets are under extreme pressure and I have to constantly balance the added value of any investment decisions made.”

FLEXIBLE WORKING PRACTICES Using buildings to their optimum capacity requires certain flexibility in working practices which has sometimes required the communication of difficult messages. Nevertheless, there has been a marked change in approach in the way people work, includ-

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ing the installation of mobility telephones so people can have the same number wherever they are located across the estate. In line with the accepted ‘norm’ these days, the organisation also works within the principle of eight desks for every ten members of staff. “This is a difficult concept to convey,” says Sioned, “but our ratio is actually quite generous. I was recently invited to the new offices of Monmouthshire Council and they operate a far tighter ratio within lovely, light and airy new premises. Senior staff, even the Chief Executive, sit in the open plan and it seemed to work very well.”

Achieving the required flexibility is only possible through agile working and the focus on certain core offices, plus dispersed bases away from Cardiff, means that staff are atoned to closely manage diaries and the use of ICT to avoid increased

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GOVERNMENT SECTOR: WELSH GOVERNMENT travelling. As well as the normal ICT infrastructure around video conferencing, telepresence suites have also been installed at three sites to help address the challenge. The Welsh Government is amongst the first to introduce an ICT application that enables staff to use personal iPads for emails and other work while away from the office.

FORWARD MAINTENANCE PLAN A five year forward maintenance plan is in place for the whole of the Welsh Government’s administrative estate and is crucial to ensure that investment in the repair, maintenance and improvement of its buildings is properly targeted. One building in particular which is benefitting from a major maintenance and upgrade programme is the Government’s principal site at Cathays Park, Cardiff.

“Cathays Park is the main presence of Welsh Government, housing about half of all our staff,” says Sioned. “It has an area of about 38,000 square metres and is one the largest office building in Wales. It was completed in 1979 and so the majority of main plant and systems are over thirty years old. While these installations have been well maintained, much of the equipment had become obsolete and worn out.”

This meant that it was no longer possible to obtain critical parts to replace failed components and the challenge was and continues to be huge.

“The main heart and lungs of the building have now been replaced and a programme of incremental refurbishment of the workspace is on-going,” confirms Sioned. “This is making a very substantial dif-

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ference to the efficiency and performance of this key building. As well as reducing operating costs and increasing space efficiency, the upgrading of the infrastructure and transformation of workspaces is substantially reducing our carbon emissions and helping us minimise our environmental impact.”

CARBON COMMITMENT Overall, the routine maintenance strategy has been designed to ensure buildings meet statutory requirements, protect users and retain their value.

At the same time, it’s necessary to actively address the greenhouse gas emissions at every opportunity

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“I VALUE THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SUPPLIERS VERY HIGHLY AND WE INVEST AN AWFUL LOT OF TIME INTO THOSE RELATIONSHIPS TO ENSURE OUR SUPPLIERS UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE WE’RE COMING FROM”

SIONED EVANS HEAD OF PROPERTY DIVISION

to ensure that the government reaches its target of a 30% reduction by 2020.

In 2011-12, the administrative portfolio achieved a reduction of 15% greenhouse gas emissions and, although realistically such a large saving is unsustainable year-in year-out, it does go some way towards the 2020 target. Having been 320th in the carbon reduction commitment performance league table in 2010-11, the Welsh Government moved to 71st last year, putting it in the top 3.5% of UK government departments.

SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS The continued flow of work resulting from the Location Strategy Programme couldn’t be under-

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taken without the close professional relationship that Property Division has with its suppliers. That, as Sioned explains, enables the Welsh Government to work collaboratively and as flexibly as possible to meet changing situations as they arise: “It's a very solution led, mature relationship where we are able to function as the intelligent client.

“I value the relationships with our suppliers very highly and we invest an awful lot of time into those relationships to ensure our suppliers understand exactly where we’re coming from. The relationship is open, honest and challenging,” Sioned continues. “That it works well is due to the skilled team that pulled together the contract, but that it works very well is due to the individuals on

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“WHAT I WANT TO DO IS WORK WITH AS MANY PARTNERS AS POSSIBLE TO SEE WHAT WE ARE DOING AND HOW WE CAN SHARE THAT MORE WIDELY’ both sides who are involved, who work very hard and diligently with us and who really understand what we are trying to deliver. I am really grateful for that.”

In a quest for transparency and openness, The Welsh Government’s progress in terms of the administrative estate is shared with the world in its annual State of the Estate report, now in its fifth edition. The next iteration, in October 2013, will again be available on the Welsh Government website at that time.

SHARING INFORMATION Transparency and the sharing of information and experiences are something that Sioned promotes through her lead of the National Assets Working Group, which aims to make the best use of public service assets in Wales. The latest development is a newly launched Assets Cymru (www.assetscymru.org.uk) website, which has been established as a portal for best practice.

“We are encouraging as many people as possible to bring forward projects, engage with and share information through the site,” remarks Sioned. “Our focus is on what's out there already, what we are doing, what's successful and equally what hasn't worked so we don’t make those mistakes again. The information will benefit others who may, in the cur-

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rent climate, not have the resources to explore the issues in isolation, let alone to consider new models.

“What I want to do is work with as many partners as possible to see what we are doing and how we can share that more widely. We don’t have the luxury of resources to reinvent the wheel so, if there's something good and its working out there, we have to look at how to share, adapt and adopt the positive work to meet our respective needs.” www.wales.gov.uk www.assetscymru.org.uk Tel: 0300 0603300

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