Making Best Use of Council Assets

The drive for efficiency within local government can be helped significantly by the more effective management of assets, such as buildings, plant and equipment.

The Highland Council’s Resources Committee fully endorsed the priority given to asset management and the potential to redirect property sales income and savings into eagerly-awaited new projects.

Already, the Council has allocated £170,000 per year to fund an asset management team and set out an action plan to embed better management of assets in all council planning processes.

And, they recognise the importance of linking asset management to the Council’s £40 million per year capital programme.

Councillor Carolyn Wilson, Chairman of the Council’s Resources Committee, said:  “Given that we have 2,700 assets, there is considerable scope to reduce our property holding and make a significant contribution to efficiency targets.  Rationalising our assets is a clear priority.

“We can redirect monies into maintaining existing properties and more effectively target capital investments, based on good information and a structured options appraisal process.

“We need to take a corporate view of priorities to ensure that spending on building projects matches the objectives of the Council, ensuring a balance between the development of new assts and the maintenance and upgrading of existing ones.”

She stressed a great deal of work needed to be done.  The data base indicated that 55% of Council property is in a good condition; 60% is suitable for its current use;  70% of public caller offices are Disability Discrimination Act compliant; 10% of council houses comply with the Scottish Housing Quality Standards and the leases on 28 office buildings will terminate by 2014.

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