NEWS
Government to pull more staff out of Whitehall by 2020 it
Government departments will move out of Whitehall and into the London suburbs, according to the new Government Estate Strategy.
Cabinet minister Francis Maude MP announced plans in early October to reduce the number of government buildings in central London from the 143 there were in 2010 to just 23 by 2020.
The move is expected to save billions of pounds by 2030, as government figures show that
costs £35,000 per year to
base someone in the Ministry of Defence at Whitehall, compared to £3,000 per year at the UK Visas and Immigration offices in Croydon.
Freeing up space in central London is also expected to be a boost for the economy, creating more space for housing and businesses.
Maude said: “As part of our long-term economic plan, this
government is cutting waste to save
taxpayers millions. Since
2010 we have got out of property 26 times the size of Buckingham Palace and halved our government buildings in London. Hard-working families expect us to do more and we will – shortly after 2020 there should be just 23 government buildings in our capital,
releasing surplus space for housing and businesses.”
Since 2010 the government has moved out of 1,650 buildings
across the UK and, according to the Cabinet Office, this has saved more than £600m in cumulative running costs and raised £1.4bn for the taxpayer.
Coalition review of Social Value Act welcomed their tax
A Cabinet Office review that could extend the Social Value Act has been welcomed by the Social Economy Alliance (SEA), the campaign group for social enterprises and cooperatives.
The review will help to decide if the Act should be extended, for instance, to cover contracts for goods and works as well as services.
SEA said extending the Act would ensure public services and infrastructure work in the best
interest of communities
and service users, and that public money can be spent with companies that provide the greatest social and environmental
value, pay a living wage and are open about arrangements.
The review team will be led by Lord Young, the prime minister’s adviser on enterprise, who will be supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, Chris White MP, Hazel Blears MP and Michael O’Toole, crown representative for the voluntary sector and soon-to- be CEO of Mentor UK. Its findings are due early next year.
Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, a lead partner in the SEA, said the Act is already transforming the public service landscape. “It is helping to eradicate a commissioning culture that selects providers based on price alone and that often results in substandard services,” he said.
“Strengthening the Act is in the public’s interest and vital to help the UK face the economic and social challenges that lie ahead.”
Liverpool chief executive faces questions over Rotherham failings
Ged Fitzgerald, chief executive of Liverpool City Council, is being quizzed by political leaders in the city about his actions when he was in charge at Rotherham from 2001-03, when children were being sexually exploited but the council failed to act.
The meeting was called Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson
by
after he consulted with the leaders of all the city’s political groups.
An independent inquiry revealed that at least 1,400 children in the Rotherham area had been sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013. Professor Alexis Jay, a former chief inspector of social work, who ran the inquiry, concluded that the council knew
as far back as 2005 of sexual exploitation being committed on a wide scale by mostly Asian men, yet failed to act (more on pages 26-31).
Social workers in Liverpool sent an anonymous letter to Anderson calling for Fitzgerald’s resignation. The letter, signed ‘Social workers across the city’ and shared with
the Liverpool Echo, states: “To do our job properly, we need to have confidence that our views and concerns will be listened to by those in power without fear of censure or cover-up. To be effective, we need to have faith that our concerns will be treated seriously and acted upon.
“Whilst Mr Fitzgerald remains in charge of Liverpool, we simply cannot have the confidence that this will happen. And nor can our service users.”
They said the “shadow of
Rotherham hangs over one of the most powerful men in the city”.
Fitzgerald (pictured), who earns about £200,000 a year, has previously been chief executive at Sunderland and Preston councils, as well as Rotherham.
10 | public sector executive Oct/Nov 14
© Richter Frank-Jurgen
© Cabinet Office and Crown
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