The pressure on central government departments and government agencies to achieve efficiencies in the provision of accommodation has never been greater. This has led to considerable upheaval in the way that services have been provided and the type and location of the accommodation that houses them.
Cost savings and efficiency measures have been the hallmark of estate strategies over recent years commencing with the Lyons Review advocating a de-centralised approach to government services. More recently the bench-marking of costs and the emphasis on the sustainability agenda have developed the process. Coupled with more recent constraints on the capital budget, the decline in the use of PFI and ever increasing complexity in the procurement process, the burden on estates services managers has been considerable.
As a consequence the public sector has led the way in the development of property management strategies and has created some of the most innovative and sophisticated thinking in this area. King Sturge has been very much at the forefront of this process working with the public sector to develop and implement its ideas.
King Sturge provides a comprehensive range of services to central government through their Public Sector Consultancy department which ensures that the specific requirements of this sector are properly understood and accounted for.
Our work includes all of the general day to day ESTATES SERVICES covering the full range of activities included within the OGC and OTHER FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS.
We also offer a particular specialism related to ESTATES STRATEGIES which is designed to meet the specific requirements of the public centre generally and central government in particular.
King Sturge’s understanding and specialism in working on behalf of central government arose from our involvement with Sir Michael Lyons in the publication of the Lyons Review. We were responsible for undertaking all of the property research into proposed relocation centres and have continued to work closely with central government since then. Specifically we are able to work with clients to develop cost saving strategies and in particular in the bench-marking of cost data.
Recognising the limitations on capital budgets we have also been involved in a number of “off balance sheet” projects and have been instrumental in developing joint public/private DELIVERY STRUCTURES. Coupled with this has been our experience in the OJEU procurement process.
King Sturge is also very much at the forefront of the development of the sustainability agenda both in terms of building design and basic efficiency measures. Our SUSTAINABILITY GROUP will provide an analysis of existing buildings or proposed developments to advise on the most effective measures. We have also been responsible for providing clients with EPCs and DECs including a recent instruction to provide EPCs for the Environment Agency.