Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 4 June 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three financial years.
Since May 2010, the Department has had considerable success in reducing the cost of its estate across the country through the rationalisation of retained office space and targeted building disposals. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries, generating net savings in the period of circa £7 million per annum.
The Department has also successfully sublet surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by circa £6.5 million per annum. Building on this success, in 2013-14 we have already secured additional savings of £1.5 million by subletting further space in Eland House, Victoria.
Most recently, the Department negotiated the early surrender of Eland House, with DCLG scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham Street with the Home Office during the summer of 2014, realising annual savings of circa £9 million for DCLG and circa £24 million for Government.
The following table provides information for bodies which are still operating.
Total running costs (£) | |||||
Central London properties | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | Lease expiry/break |
DCLG Eland House, Bressenden Place, SW1E 5DU | 23,833,620 | 22,244,651 | 23,532,680 | 22,195,936 | 29 September 2014 (renegotiated early surrender date) |
Homes and Communities Agency Maple House, Tottenham Court Road, W1T 7BN | 494,358 | 594,336 | 574,987 | (1)1,489,377 | 11 September 2014 |
Homes and Communities Agency Palestra House, Blackfriars Road, SE1 8AA | 661,453 | 676,853 | 508,952 | 0 | 3 March 2012 (now vacated) |
Homes and Communities Agency Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9SA | 1,261,440 | 1,239,686 | 79,596 | 1,050 | 26 June 2010 (now vacated) |
Valuation Tribunal Service Black Lion House, Tower Hamlets, E1 1DU | 345,172 | 432,255 | 441,730 | 472,037 | 25 December 2013 (under review) |
Independent Housing Ombudsman Aldwych House, 81 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4HN | 132,364 | 385,013 | 385,272 | 404,534 | 6 August 2017 |
Local Government Ombudsman Millbank Tower, Millbank, SW1P 4QP | 1,046,532 | 1,123,518 | 1,152,915 | 1,138,079 | 25 December 2013 (break to be served) |
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre SW1P 3EE | 8,926,000 | 7,162,000 | 7,727,000 | 7,505,000 | Freehold |
(1) Increase due to absorbing residual functions of Tenant Services Authority. |
However, this table understates the full savings being delivered to the taxpayer, as since 2010, we have significantly reduced the number of departmental quangos. It would entail disproportionate cost to provide a full breakdown of running costs, but I would note that in addition to the savings above, property savings have also been made as a consequence of:
Abolishing the Government office for the regions, including the Government office for London.
Abolishing the Tenant Services Authority and National Tenant Voice.
Abolishing the Standards Board for England.
Abolishing Firebuy.
Abolishing the Audit Commission and outsourcing its audit contracts (ongoing).
Transferring the Fire Service College to the private sector.
Abolishing/localising the Thurrock Development Corporation and London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
More broadly, the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by 41% in real terms by 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532,000,000 over this spending review period.
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