Witnesses:
Natalie Bramhall,
Cabinet Member for Property and Waste
Leigh Whitehouse,
Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director for
Resources
Simon Crowther,
Director – Land and Property
Matthew Pizii, Client
Account Manager
Dominic Barlow,
Assistant Director, - Corporate Landlord
Brendon Kavanagh, Portfolio Lead – Corporate
Key points raised during the
discussion:
- The Chairman thanked
the service for the detailed reports. The item went to Cabinet in
December 2021 and it was decided that it should also be presented
to the Resources and Performance Select Committee. Cabinet approved
a potential spend just in excess of £20 million with
further strategy, analysis and subsequent cabinet
approval in light of those outcomes.
- A Member asked if it
would be better value for money to refurbish
Quadrant Court than to sell it and find a suitable alternative
site, it was asked why SCC seemed averse to refurbishing its
existing properties. The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste said
that the current requirement was to provide a healthy, fit for purpose, energy efficient space for staff and
it would be difficult to create energy efficiency at Quadrant
Court. As agreed at Cabinet, the team were reviewing a wider scope
of options. The County Councils property strategies needed to be
dynamic and adaptable over time with the County Council
refurbishing buildings where the strategy was for longer term
retention.
- A Member, in relation
to the Cabinet Member for Property and Waste’s comment that
buildings were not renovated if there were no plans to retain them,
noted that if property was not regularly updated an incentive for
closure was created. The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste
conveyed that a new team within Land and Property had undertaken
work to improve, change and move with the times.
- A Member queried the
potential move of Adult Social Care local teams out of district and
borough offices and asked had the impact to district and borough
finances been considered. The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste
concluded that Surrey County Council ensured good working
partnerships whilst prioritising its own financial position and the
critical services funded through a limited budget. With current
financial pressures, all public bodies were looking at how to
deliver modernised space at the best value. Districts and boroughs
would be able to define individual impacts as the program
progressed. Discussions were ongoing with potential partners to
co-locate as part of options reviewed as already facilitated at
Woodhatch Place. Place based assessments of all Surrey County
Council’s decisions enabled consideration of projects and
opportunities in and around the districts and boroughs as part of
the final decision for relocating teams. Development of the Agile
Offices Estate Strategy had been commercially sensitive, however,
engagement with the boroughs and districts began in December last
year ahead of Cabinet and a detailed sequence of discussions would
commence soon with the majority of proposed moves due for November
2023. The Deputy Chief Executive and
Executive Director for Resources explained that the Cabinet report
had been shared with colleagues in districts
and boroughs and following reviews of locations within their
buildings. The reaction being one of recognition and understanding
and in many cases aligning with their plans to review accommodation
requirements. Decisions would not be made to leave any short-term
difficult decisions and actions would be undertaken over a period
of time, allowing for quality engagement. Feedback had been
positive so far.
- A Member asked if the
Service had taken into account travel distances for staff as a
result of office moves and the impact on climate change targets.
The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste stated that one benefit
of providing a standardised agile workspace was that staff were
moved away from having to commute to a single office location every
day. Staff would be assigned an administration base for HR purposes
but would have the ability to work from varied locations, reducing
travel times and costs.
- A Member asked if
housing provision could be considered when an office building is
being disposed of. The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste
confirmed that housing was a consideration each time a property was
brought forward.
- The Chairman noted
dilemmas faced by SCC in relation to what
should be spent to provide efficient value for money options and to
improve our carbon efficiency.
- A Member asked if a
full public sector office estate portfolio survey had been carried
out to enable partly used buildings to be utilised. The Cabinet
Member for Property explained that discussions were ongoing with
partners to determine options for co-location. Most local
government bodies in Surrey were also reviewing the way that they
work and what form of office space was required going forward. A
significant engagement programme had been undertaken to ensure the
transformation would not impact the delivery of services but would
enhance delivery and collaboration wherever possible. A Member
requested that the Committee be provided with information relating
to this in due course.
- A Member
was concerned to learn that district teams were to be moved out of
districts and boroughs and queried the dissemination of information
regarding this. An Officer explained that Surrey Chief Executives
had been updated before Christmas 2021 to cascade information
throughout the districts and boroughs. There was enthusiasm for a
partnership solution and positive engagement in looking at
solutions with the intention of ensuring the right space for the
right purpose.
- A Member asked if it
had been considered how residents would travel to relocated offices
given that public transport could be problematic and the fact that
lower income families may not own cars. An Officer agreed that the
connectivity and accessibility of our agile
office estate would be critical with a key factor of the programme
being that SCC can deliver for residents. Locations were being
considered with staff and residents in mind.
- A Member noted that
some administration departments did not need to be located at sites
were residents visited as these departments could be accessed via
email or telephone. The Cabinet Member for Property and Waste
confirmed that a review of asset utilisation
and condition was planned to rationalise the estate to ensure it's
was affordable and fit for purpose. As with all organisations, new
ways of working needed to be tested post COVID-19 with a long-term
strategy to deliver modern, accessible and healthy workspaces staff
whilst having the flexibility to adapt and at minimal cost.
An Officer said that detailed
staff service engagement had been undertaken throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic to understand methods of bringing services to
residents. Consideration of other transformation projects to
changing the ways of working in conjunction with those cited within
the greener futures remit was ongoing. The use of Surrey Office of
Data Analytics had been incorporated to look at the socio-economic
picture across Surrey, overlaying that with staff locations. All
demands had been considered to determine the best place for of our
offices to be.
- The Chairman asked if
there was confidence that Woodhatch Place would remain the
headquarters of SCC. The Cabinet Member for Property
and Waste confirmed that Woodhatch Place would remain the
headquarters of SCC.
- The Chairman asked if
there was a strategy to cover the current maintenance backlog of
offices and over what timescale. The Cabinet Member for Property
and Waste confirmed that the maintenance
backlog would decrease as the size of the estate was reduced to a
more modernised a footprint over the next four years.
- The Chairman asked
how the Committee could review and make recommendations before the
next report was submitted to Cabinet. The Deputy Chief Executive
and Executive Director for Resources stated that options were
currently being reviewed and once set out could be discussed with
the Committee before Cabinet. The Chairman agreed that this would
be welcome and it was important that Members of the Committee
should be informed with regards to the strategy, with further
involvement before Cabinet preferred.
Actions/further information to be provided:
- The Deputy Chief
Executive and Director for Resources to discuss options for
consideration with the Resources and Performance Select Committee
prior to Cabinet.
Resolved:
The Resources and Performance Select
Committee:
- Asks
Cabinet Member to ensure that an adequate regular repairs
programme with corresponding annual maintenance budget is in place
and reflected in the
Directorate/Council’s budget for 2022/23 and
beyond.
- Requests
Cabinet Member to share the result of Surrey’s public sector
office estate portfolio survey/audit with the Select
Committee.
- Asks
Cabinet Member: to consider how best to work jointly with boroughs,
districts and other partners in terms of the effective utilisation
of the Council’s office estate; ensure that all Surrey County
Council office estate buildings are accessible to residents; and
support net zero and climate change ambitions.
- A briefing
to be provided to the Select Committee once a further paper to
Cabinet has been prepared but before a decision is
taken.
The Chairman paused
the meeting at 12.28pm for a comfort break. The meeting was resumed
at 12.35pm