What COPROP does > Asset Management
Whilst Asset Management has been with us for some time now (by ODPM and the Audit Commission in the late 1990s) it continues to be an increasingly important area for Local Government. The Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) on the Use of Resources for CPA and in particular the Value For Money Indicators prescribed by central government reinforce this position.
Challenges also come from the Lyons Review in terms of efficient use of our assets (Public Sector Assets Management Study 2004; Place Shaping: A Shared Ambition for the Future of Local Government 2007) and the Quirk Review of community management and ownership of public assets in terms of community use of public buildings 2007.
The fundamental objectives for Asset Management however have not changed:
- Supporting service improvement by delivering current and future portfolio requirements.
- Supporting and facilitating wider objectives (e.g. regeneration, inclusion, sustainability).
- Improving stakeholder satisfaction with property and with property services.
- Having a lean, well maintained portfolio which allows the authority to live within its means (capital and revenue) by managing property running costs effectively and efficiently and releasing capital and then recycling it into corporate priorities.
- Delivering new capital projects effectively and efficiently.
- Maximising returns on any "investment" property.
- Delivering continuous improvement through performance management.
Two examples of individual projects COPROP Policy & Review Group are represented on are:
1. A Framework for Managing Property Assets, which has developed from an initial project to create an industry wide standard for asset management. This involves consultation with the Institute of Asset Management, the OGC -http://www.consilian.co.uk/WhitePapers.html
2. Leeds Forum for Asset Management – this is a research project currently being defined for analysis of asset management on an international level
