Government Property 2024 – Strategy Update

Wednesday 11th September 2024

Etc. Venues, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HU

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Event Information

Wednesday 11th September 2024, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HU

We are delighted to announce that the most senior civil servants working in public sector property will converge on Manchester to discuss and debate Government’s Property Strategy, two years on from it’s launch. This conference will see the authors of the strategy and leaders in Government Property – including representatives from Government departments, the NHS, and Local Government – come together to explore the main themes and discuss the future of the profession.

Delegate attendance is completely free of charge for senior public servants, thus removing a significant cost barrier and facilitating a renewal or a creation of those vitally important networks with their peers and with a range of knowledgeable private sector advisors and practitioners.

A plenary session will set the scene for the day, then the conference continues with sessions going into more detail on the strategy and how the wider public sector can respond to the challenges and opportunities. Sessions will be led by a mix of public and private sector presenters and will encourage interactivity.

Throughout the day there will also be chances to network with your peers within the exhibition area and sample the excellent catering that Etc venues provide.

Delegate places are free of charge for all public sector property professionals employed within the UK public sector*. Places will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and must be booked in advance. Don’t miss out on your place

*Terms & Conditions apply as detailed on booking

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Conference Agenda

Wednesday 11th September 2024, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HU

0930 – 1100 Plenary Session

Chair: Mark Chivers, Government Chief Property Officer, Cabinet Office
The strategic direction of the public estate, big priorities for the coming year, and a reflection of performance in the first two years of the eight year Government Property Strategy

Saurabh Bhandari, Director, Property Delivery and Transformation, Office of Government Property
Creating a smaller, better, and greener estate, with a specific focus on building maintenance and sustainability

Ravi Chand, Director, Places for Growth, Cabinet Office
Reshaping the civil service to drive economic growth in cities and regions throughout the UK

Andy Mills, Sector Director – Central Government, Equans

Lynda Rawsthorne, Government Head of the Property Profession, Cabinet Office
Skills, recruitment and retention into the property profession, diversity, and career development

The session ends with a chance for delegates to take part in Q&A with the speakers.

Following a 30min refreshment and networking break the day continues with focused work sessions on subjects such as:

Strategic property asset management

Regeneration and brownfield sites

Sustainability and reaching Net Zero

Unlocking funding

Working in partnerships

Transforming the public estate

Government Property Strategy update

Social value and planning

Retrofitting the public estate

Please note sessions, speakers and times may be subject to change

Plenary Speakers

Wednesday 11th September 2024, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HU

Chair: Mark Chivers, Government Chief Property Officer, Cabinet Office

Mark joined the Cabinet Office as Government Chief Property Officer in January 2022.

Mark is responsible for providing senior, strategic leadership for the whole cross-government property function. He works with a wide range of senior stakeholders within government and in the wider public sector promoting the intelligent use of property to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer.

Mark provides strategic leadership for the Government Property Function, and holds senior leaders accountable to the Government Functional Standard. He leads on major change programmes, supporting the delivery of better and more integrated public services, overseeing – among others – the Places for Growth programme and supporting the Levelling Up agenda.

Mark has 20 years’ experience at Board level in both the private and public sectors, most recently as Director of Estates Engineering and Energy at Boots UK, but has led teams across Property, Marketing, Procurement, Operations and Transformation in Walgreens Boots Alliance businesses.

Saurabh Bhandari, Director, Property Delivery and Transformation, Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office.

Saurabh is an extremely experienced property professional, having operated at director level on high-profile, national property programmes in the public and private sectors.

His previous role was in the New Hospitals Programme, he is an IPA programme director, and now leads work across Government on Better Buildings, Facilities Management, One Public Estate, and data.

Overall, Saurabh has a wealth of experience in project management, program leadership, and architectural design across various sectors, including healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

Ravi Chand CBE QPM, Chartered Fellow CIPD, Director, Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office

Ravi Chand is the Director for Civil Service People and Places Directorate in The Cabinet Office where he leads the government’s Places for Growth Portfolio. Before the Cabinet Office, Ravi was the Chief People Officer at the Department for International Development (DFID), holding responsibility for people, operations, IT and systems, estates and change.

He was previously the HR director at HM Revenue and Customs with responsibility for workforce management of its 69,000 staff. He led the work on reforming the workforce to deliver the department’s blueprint ambitions for the future. He also worked as the director responsible for capability, talent and diversity at the Home Office, Managing Consultant in a FTSE 100 company and as a serving Police Officer with Bedfordshire Police.

He was awarded a CBE in 2011 and QPM in 2002 for distinguished service..

Ravi is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Andy Mills, Sector Director – Central Government, Equans

Andy has been Sector Director for Central Government at Equans since March 2023. He has 32 years’ experience with Central Government, with over 20 in the Government Property Profession. As an established Property Leader, he worked closely with the Office of Government Property, such as Chairing Central Government’s FM Taskforce in 2021/2022.

Andy was the Chief Property Officer for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) up to January 2023, leading property services for the MoJ and the Home Office across a £8bn complex operational property portfolio (c2000 properties), with a diverse customer base. He specialised in Commercial, Facilities Management, Project Delivery (including capital project delivery), Estate Management and Sustainability.

In his current role, Andy uses his experience and understanding of the complexities and challenges of managing Central Government property (and associated relationships) to prioritise and continually develop Equans partnerships across Central Government, ensuring that we understand and deliver to departmental priorities (such as Net Zero) and put end users at the heart of our service delivery.

Lynda Rawsthorne, Government Head of Property Profession and Director, Property Capability, Sponsorship & Standards, Cabinet Office

Lynda Rawsthorne was appointed Government Head of Property Profession and Director, Property Capability, Sponsorship & Standards, in August 2023.

Lynda is head of the Government Property Profession, the community of property professionals across government. She provides professional leadership across a diverse range of government departments and arms-length bodies which deliver the government’s property ambitions.

Lynda has over 25 years’ professional experience across the property lifecycle including valuation, managing estates as well as delivering transformational and construction-based programmes. A Fellow of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Association of Project Management, Lynda is a graduate of the Major Project Leadership Academy at the University of Oxford.