Having recently criticised English local authorities for having made only modest improvements in the way they manage their estates it was only a matter of time before the Audit Commission received a "physician heal thyself"- type admonition back.
It appears to have made a pre-emptive strike, however.
Not only has the commission announced that it is proposing to shrink its field force numbers by 100 –a plan which is currently being discussed with unions – but it is also trumpeting the fact that a third of the office space at its Millbank headquarters in central London has already been re-let saving an estimated £7 million over the next nine years.
The adoption of streamlined working practices made that possible. Staff have already been reduced by 4.3% following the shedding of 89 posts during 2008/09. The next round of redundancies can be expected during 2009/10 and is a consequence of the reduced amount of inspection demanded by the adoption of Comprehensive Area Assessment as well as local government reorganisation which has slimmed down the number of public bodies requiring audits.
"We want to be exemplary in our commitment to providing value for money, demonstrably practising what we preach over new ways of working, shared services and use of technology," declared Steve Bundred, the commission's chief executive.
Local authorities came in for criticism in the Room for Improvement report, published mid-June, in which the Audit Commission called for the government to intervene to resolve what it described as the apparent conflict of priorities between selling property to maximise receipts and enhancing estates to deliver better public services.
The commission will no doubt be heartened by the publication by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) of a series of new best practice guides for local authorities on how to manage their assets effectively.
Local Authority Asset Management Best Practice is a set of seven leaflets aimed at council members, senior professionals and practitioners and is designed to assist the delivery of effective asset management, says the RICS.
Looking at key areas such as the transfer of assets, value for money, measuring asset performance and "improving the customer's experience", the guides also show how assets can better support public policy and local authority initiatives.
They also suggest how the management of assets can be integrated into corporate management and try to encourage members and officers to become more involved in strategic asset management.
