Meeting documents

1.1 One of the requirements of CPA 2005 is the preparation and adoption of an Asset Management Plan.

1.2 The Council's Asset Management Plan was last updated in 2002.

1.3 The Plan has now been rewritten and is submitted for adoption by the Executive.

1.4 In parallel with this an overall Policy for the management of the Council's Property Assets has been prepared and will be rolled out during the course of the current Financial Year.

2.1 The Council Executive is asked to agree that:

(1) The Asset Management Plan at Appendix 1 is adopted.

(2) The Property Policy at Appendix 2 is adopted.

(3) That further development and reissue of both documents is delegated to the Assistant Director Support Services -Property & Facilities in consultation with the Executive Member for Economic Development.

(4) That a formal review of progress in implementing the Asset Management Plan will be made as part of the Corporate Plan / Financial Plan / budget process and the results reported to the Executive.

3.1 The best use of Resources has an impact on the Financial Plan, both in Capital and Revenue terms. The ability to rationalise Assets may produce Capital Receipts together with a consequent Revenue effect on running costs. Other approaches to Asset Management such as whole life costing will also produce an improved revenue profile.

3.2 At present there is no revenue cost to the occupation of property assets and the Policy proposes to introduce such costs as a transparent way of accounting for the cost of property as part of service delivery. These arrangements are intended initially to be budget neutral and managed from within existing resources.

4.1 The best use of Resources contributes indirectly to all Corporate Improvement Priorities.

5.1 The production of an AMP has been a mandatory requirement of ODPM for the period 1999 - 2002. Since then Authorities have had more freedom to produce plans that suit there own requirements.

5.2 The production of an AMP has now been reintroduced as a mandatory requirement under the 2005 CPA assessment. Such requirement will continue to form a part of KLOE 2.3 "The Council manages its Asset base."

5.3 The AMP has now been updated and has been approved by Director's Group and Project Programme Board and is submitted for adoption by the Council Executive

5.4 The plan initially covers the financial year 2006/2007 but is a dynamic plan intended to reflect current circumstances over the next 5 years. It is intended to be updated at regular intervals and formally reported on an annual basis.

5.5 It refers to the Corporate Estate only, the Commercial Estate being subject to a separate review (CEOR) at the present time. The 2 estates are totally different and demand individual aims, objectives and performance standards. The Commercial Estate is currently managed in accordance with the Active Management Strategy approved by Members in 2001. In due course the results of the CEOR will inform a revised Active Management Strategy which will be incorporated into the AMP as it relates to the Commercial Estate.

5.6 The Plan is attached at Appendix 1 and deals with the following main topics

(1) Data Management - Accurate and reliable information is the cornerstone of effective asset use.

(2) Condition Surveys - The condition of any building and any maintenance backlog is a key element of any decision on retention, disposal or rationalisation of property assets.

(3) Consultation - Equally important is the suitability of buildings for purpose and involving occupying departments is key to capturing and reflecting this.

(4) The Property Performance Model - this is a model to quantify as much as possible the factors involved and to make the decision making process as objective as possible.

(5) Property Reviews - Dependent on the results arising from the model informed decisions can then be made about the best use of properties or groups of properties, either geographically or by function.

(6) Action Plan - Specific actions are included in an action plan. This action plan will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and a formal review undertaken annually. The results of this annual review will be reported to the Executive and recommend a replacement action plan for the forthcoming year.

5.7 These stages provide a logical path through the process of making best use of Resources.

5.8 It also includes clear links into the Service Planning process and the Capital Strategy as well as robust performance indicators as required by Central Government. The format of the indicators is currently subject to review under the guidance of COPROP (Chief Officers in Property) and will be developed in such a way that supplements the Property Division's balanced scorecard and other indicators and forms part of a composite reporting structure.

5.9 The key themes of the Policy are as follows

(1) Clarification of the roles and responsibilities of Property Services, occupiers and others in all aspects of the management of property.

(2) An allocation of all property interests owned by the Council to a Head of Service (Assistant Director).

(3) Establishment of an overall revenue charge for the occupation of property making all occupations transparent in financial terms.

6.1 A risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations has been undertaken, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.

7.1 The adoption and maintenance of an AMP is a requirement for achieving an acceptable score under CPA. Anything other than the existence of a working and effective plan would result in larger areas of the Council's assessment being marked down.

8.1 For the reasons set out in 7 above the maintenance of an AMP is a mandatory CPA requirement and therefore no other options have been considered in this respect.

8.2 In relation to the policy such mandatory requirements do not exist however for the reasons set out in 5.9 above the option of not proceeding has been discounted.

9.1 Both the Policy and the AMP have been considered by Director's Group. The Policy has also been ratified by Heads of Service and the AMP has been approved by Project Programme Board.

9.2 Both documents will be subject to detailed roll out by means of workshops involving key staff in all relevant service areas.

10.1 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Solicitor to the Council) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.