Further to minute 110 (31 January 2011), the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management provided an update in relation to the office rationalisation programme which, with an increase in agile working would support the corporate priority to improve the use of the Council’s land and assets and help facilitate improvements in service delivery. The project was expected to deliver substantial annual revenue savings by reducing the amount of space occupied and he commented that although the provision of administrative accommodation was not a statutory requirement, such accommodation did support the delivery of statutory functions.

He outlined the progress that had been made since the last meeting of the Committee, particularly in relation to measures to facilitate the vacation of Westminster House. He commented also upon the impact of the current Early Retirement/Voluntary Severance (EVR/VS) scheme on office occupancy and indicated that although there was a reduction in the amount of space required, not all of the staff who had left the authority occupied desk space. The additional impact of further staff leaving the authority in the period up to 30 June 2011 would be assessed and proposals would be brought forward for the vacation of further buildings.

Resolved –

(1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That Committee recognises the next steps required in relation to the Office Rationalisation programme and expresses anxiety that, unless work is expedited as a matter of urgency, savings will not be achieved in a timely manner.

(3)  That update reports be presented to future meetings of the Committee on a quarterly basis.