Sustainable operations on the Government estate: who do the targets cover?

Who is covered by the sustainable operations targets

Extent and nature of the Central government estate

Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs)

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This page provides information on who is affected by the new operational targets, the size and nature of the Government estate and information on the obligations of Public Bodies and Government Agencies.

Who is covered by the sustainable operations targets?

What is the extent and nature of the Government estate

Non Departmental Public Bodies

The sustainable operations targets and reporting requirements cover all central Government Departments and their Executive Agencies, including buildings and land managed. They also apply to Non-Departmental Public Bodies on a case-by-case basis. Task forces are not currently included within the remit of the new sustainable operations targets. Furthermore, the targets do not apply to the devolved administrations, schools, hospitals or overseas locations.

The Government estate comprises over 50,000 buildings and houses and occupies over 12.5 million m² of office space within England, Scotland, and Wales, accommodating some 570,000 civil servants.

The social, economic and environmental impacts resulting from running Government Departments and carrying out business are therefore significant, and comparable in many ways to a large company.

Although the size and nature of individual Departments' estates vary considerably (see box below) some generalisations can be made. All but three Departments are mainly office based, with their non-office space comprising various archives, warehouses, official residencies and laboratories. The Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs all have mainly non-office estates, and MOD has a diverse, mixed estate.

Examples of the Diverse nature of the Estate

Mainly Office based

DWP 2,441,341sq.mhas the largest office based estate with currently over 100,000 staff and approximately 2,440,000 square metres worth of building space.

DCMS is one of the smallest Departments with fewer than 500 staff and a small estate. However, it has much wider sustainable development impacts through the large number of NDPBs and associate bodies for which it is responsible, including the National Lotteries Charities Board, the National Museums and Galleries, the Arts Council of England, Sport England and the national and regional Tourist Boards.

DfT has one of the most diverse estates. Although most of their staff is office based it also has over 1,000 driving standards, maritime coastguard, and vehicle inspection stations as well as and the Air and Marine Accident Investigation branches.

Mainly non -office based

HO is only about 15% office based, with prisons accounting for about 80% of the estate. The remaining 5% are colleges and laboratories.

DCA estate is mainly courts, accounting for over 90% of the estate, with only 7% offices.

Mixed

MOD has extensive land holdings (240,000 hectares), and some 45,000 buildings. It is by far the most diverse estate including depots, barracks, residential accommodation, ports and airfields as well as offices.

There are considerable challenges inherent in developing cross-government targets which are suitable for all Departments, particularly those with a large non-office component to their estate or significant land holdings. The issues which have been selected for the Framework are those which are likely to be common to most Departments. It is expected that all Departments will put their impacts in these areas in context alongside any other significant impacts they may have as part of their formal response to the Framework.

In 2005, the Sustainable Operations Board, agreed that the new sustainable operations targets, would also apply to NDPBs, on a case-by-case basis. Each department’s SD Minister will make a decision about which of their Department’s NDPBs will be included within the targets’ remit from April 2006. For a clear definition of what is meant by a non departmental body see the table below:

What is a Public Body?

A public body is not part of a government department, but carries out its function to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from central government.
Non-Ministerial departments and executive agencies are departments of central government, or part of one, and thus not considered public bodies.
The term 'public body' is a general one that includes: Public Corporations, such as the BBC; NHS bodies; and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs).

Different types of Non-Departmental Public Body

There are four types of NDPB. These denote different funding arrangements, functions and kinds of activity. They are:

Executive NDPBs - established in statute and carrying out administrative, regulatory and commercial functions, they employ their own staff and are allocated their own budgets.
Advisory NDPBs - provide independent and expert advice to ministers on particular topics of interest. They do not usually have staff but are supported by staff from their sponsoring department. They do not usually have their own budget, as costs incurred come within the department's expenditure.
Tribunal NDPBs - have jurisdiction in a specialised field of law. They are usually supported by staff from their sponsoring department and do not have their own budgets.

Independent Monitoring Boards - formerly known as 'Boards of Visitors' -'watchdogs' of the prison system. Their duty is to satisfy themselves as to the state of the prison premises, their administration and the treatment of prisoners. The sponsoring department meets the costs.

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Updated: 22 September 2006