Our latest issue of InFocus: December 2021
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InFocus
Bringing together news and views from the Government Property Agency
Our newest Hub is now open: Birmingham, 23 Stephenson Street
In October this year we successfully completed the four-month phased move in to the Hub. This Hub is a key milestone as part of the Government Hubs Programme, bringing together up to 1,700 civil servants from more than 20 Government departments across nine floors.
The Hub, which lies in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, was refurbished to create 10,220 square metres of collaborative, smarter working spaces. And it is now also our new Head Office.
Debra Soper, COO at GPA said; "The Birmingham Hub represents another significant achievement for GPA’s Government Hubs programme and our ambition to deliver great places to work."
This Government Hub is one of ten that have opened, including Edinburgh, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Croydon, Canary Wharf and Stratford. A total of 30 Hubs are planned within the Government Hubs Programme.
The updated Safe Working Guidance is now live
We have updated the Safe Working Guidance to support a common approach to the way departments respond to Government guidance and carry out risk assessments.
Expanding our portfolio
As our portfolio continues to expand across the UK, we have recently onboarded three iconic buildings within Whitehall, including 1 Horseguards Road and 100 Parliament Street, that are now a part of Whitehall Campus - an interoperable 'campus' environment at the heart of Whitehall. And we reached a notable milestone within the Government Hubs programme when we opened our Birmingham Hub.
BUILDINGS
- London, 2 Marsham Street - Home Office PFI (53,450 sqm)
- London, 1 Horse Guards Road, HMT PFI (16,173 sqm)
- London, 100 Parliament Street, HMRC PFI (25,432 sqm)
- Birmingham, 23 Stephenson Street, GPA Hub (10,220 sqm), supporting more than 1,700 civil servants from more than 20 client departments
DEPARTMENTS:
- National Savings and Investments (1 property. 1,988 sqm)
- Legal Aid Agency (11 properties, 15,470 sqm)
- Northern Ireland Office (1 property, 482 sqm)
FREEHOLD TRANSFERS:
- Office of National Statistics, 3 assets (43,488sqm)
GPA WELCOMES YVETTE GREENER AND CLIVE ANDERSON TO ITS LEADERSHIP TEAM
Yvette joins as our new Client Director and will continue championing client satisfaction and leading on client engagement.
Clive joins as our new Capital Projects Director and will continue to drive forward our Government Hubs and Whitehall Campus programmes.
A NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO SUPPORT OUR CLIENT'S EVOLVING NEEDS
We've partnered with leading sustainability consultant, Atkins - member of SNC-Lavalin Group, to support our drive towards Net Zero across the Government's office and warehouse portfolio.
CLIENT BILLING UPDATE
Over the past two months we have invested a significant amount of effort in improving our client billing. This includes a detailed review of data fields within the Horizon Property Management system; identifying key intervention points where additional quality assurance measures will be introduced; implemented variance reports to support client invoices; and improved the skills and expertise within our finance team through successful recruitment campaigns.
WORKPLACE SERVICES DELIVERY UPDATE
The Workplace Service Delivery team is going through a transition to improve and stabilise the quality of support we provide our clients, and the solutions we design and deliver for our customers.
CAPITAL PROGRAMME UPDATE
The outcome from the SR21 allows us to continue our Capital Projects success with funding to deliver 19 projects. We also completed our first Whitehall Campus project when Old Admiralty Building went live in April. And our Wolverhampton i9 project was completed in record time. Our Hubs programme continues to progress with Croydon and Peterborough remaining on schedule.
NET ZERO PROGRAMME UPDATE
We are continuing our ambitious plans to complete various projects as part of our drive towards Net Zero. This includes LED lighting upgrades, Photovoltaic (PV) (Solar), as well as Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) upgrades to the Government's office portfolio. And we are continuing to support departments to apply for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
FIVE MINUTES WITH... STEVEN BOYD, CEO
Steven Boyd sat down with Civil Service World to discuss how the GPA is helping officials get offices fit for the future.
GPA appoints Debra Soper as its first COO
We have hired our first Chief Operating Officer, Debra Soper, in a recruitment drive as part of our strategy to place people at the centre of our property agenda.
Expanding our strategic workplace expertise
We continue to recruit specialist expertise to strengthen our service strategy and solutions. Meet Louis Roberts, our Deputy Director for Workplace Service Delivery.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster visits Peterborough
In October the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Steven Barclay, toured the construction site of the new Government Hub at Fletton Quays in Peterborough.
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