Councils could cut costs by sharing buildings, says minister

6 Jun 13
Cabinet Office minister Chloë Smith has urged local authorities to share more property as part of efficiency efforts across the public sector.

By Richard Johnstone | 6 June 2013

Cabinet Office minister Chloë Smith has urged local authorities to share more property as part of efficiency efforts across the public sector.

Cabinet Office minister Chloë Smith has urged local authorities to share more property as part of efficiency efforts across the public sector.

Visiting a multi-agency shared property initiative in Bromsgrove, which will combine county and district services in Worcestershire, she said: 'Millions of pounds can be wasted by services using expensive buildings when there’s a half-empty property down the road.'

She added: 'That’s taxpayers’ money which could be used in so many other ways.’

The £7.5m Bromsgrove development will include a library, customer service centre and Jobcentre Plus, with both councils set to vacate and redevelop existing offices when the new centre opens.

A new joint police and fire station is also being built in Bromsgrove, which will replace ‘outdated’ stations and reduce running costs by up to a quarter.

The developments are part of the Worcestershire Capital and Assets Pathfinder Partnership, which is working to rationalise the public sector estate in the county. Overall, the programme is expected to raise up to £125m by allowing vacant property to be sold, and to generate a further £280m in revenue over 25 years that can then be reinvested in local services.

A total of 35 authorities are currently part of the Capital and Assets Pathfinder programme, and Smith called on more town halls to take action to reduce the number of properties they use to cut costs.

'In central government, we’re working hard to ensure the taxpayer does not have to pay for empty buildings. Already, we’ve raised over £1bn nationally by getting departments to work together and use their property more efficiently. It’s great to see local authorities making such good progress. Worcestershire is leading the way and I hope their work will be replicated across the country.’

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