In a recent editorial comment, one national newspaper seemed to mock the Treasury’s plans to rationalise the office it space it occupies by requiring staff to work at smaller desks.
For those familiar with the Treasury building, the opportunity to increase efficiency by ensuring that the floor space is properly utilised …

Much debate is raging about social housing in the UK, sparked by announcements of major housing benefit reforms.

Last week, for example, prime minister David Cameron announced plans to replace lifelong council house tenancies with five or ten-year contracts. This marks the most radical reform to social housing since the …

Has anyone looked at the Department of Communities and Local Government’s website lately? I suspect not many – and to be fair, it wasn’t always the most invigorating read anyway.
But it did contain a significant amount of invaluable information for professionals in government, local government and the private sector dealing …

Spending cuts will mean big changes to the way services are delivered across the public sector. For asset managers this is an exciting opportunity, as we can be at the forefront of that change.
Those who practice surveying in local government know all about asset management and the mandatory “asset plans” …

My text for this blog is, unusually, rooted in an article I read recently in another publication.
This article suggested that a review being undertaken by Buying Solutions, of work being carried out by the eight firms on the Estates Framework Agreement, was with a view to establishing who would be …

If I’ve been quiet for a few weeks, it isn’t because there isn’t a lot to say about what the coalition government has been doing to planning – frankly, I’ve been rendered close to speechless by some of the changes and they’ve been coming thick and fast.
While the speed of …

As a general rule of thumb, we can accept most new things in life, providing we give it 10 years. It is just more than a decade since London started electing mayors again, and we haven’t rejected the idea so far
Now the talk is about giving them more powers. London …

Now that the severity of the cuts to departmental budgets are beginning to hit home, public bodies have to seriously consider the options available to them for reducing the overall size (and cost) of the civil estate.
A number of measures are currently being mooted that could potentially allow it to …

Make no mistake, the government has put its flag in the ground. It is sending a clear message that things are going to be very different in the public sector from now on.
This week’s eagerly anticipated Emergency Budget delivered a few welcome announcements, as well as the much …

Alan Soldat, planning director at Barton Wilmore, says there are lessons the coalition government should learn from Regional Spatial Strategies before they are consigned to the scrapheap

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As expected, the Government has announced that regional spatial strategies (RSSs) are to go. A huge amount of work went into the production of …