Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 

Providing a world class environment delivers better public service outcomes more efficiently

In 2007, EC Harris helped the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through their transition to become the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). We facilitated the move of eight new Government Ministers and their departments to BERR’s flagship building in Victoria Street, London.

Our Government Team provides facilities management services for BERR, managing hard and soft services to a portfolio of 18 buildings throughout the UK. Our proven track record for innovation and our high calibre management team has succeeded in improving standards of service at BERR and provided a world class environment for the 3,500 BERR staff, a further 1,500 from NAO and DIUS and 1,200 visitors every month from the UK and overseas.

Creating solutions

EC Harris has worked in partnership with the in-house Estates team at BERR to transform the working environment in such a way as to deliver cash savings as well as enhance the support to the core business. providing a world class environment for

The planning for the Estates Optimisation Programme (EOP) was begun by the Department of Trade and Industry (as BERR then was) in November 2006. The Department had four main buildings in London:

• 1 Victoria Street
  
• 10 - 18 Victoria Street
  
• Kingsgate House, Victoria Street
  
• 151 Buckingham Palace Road.

The original aim of the programme was to improve workspace planning and optimise the DTI’s office accommodation to meet OGC and Central Government targets. Cross Department consultation led to a major co-operative exercise with the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO building was being refurbished, and by relocating 700 staff, the DTI would vacate 151 Buckingham Palace Road, allowing the NAO to move there during therefurbishment.

With EC Harris as Project Managers, the majority of the work was delivered between March 2007 and August 2007 with a budget of £3.4 million. Desk ratios of 8:10 were introduced to accommodate flexible working and major refurbishments were made to update mechanical and electrical installations, replacing them with more energy efficient modern alternatives.

When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, he reorganised several Departments of State - including the DTI, which became the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). The DfES was split into the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

The effects on accommodation driven by changes in ‘the Machinery of Government’ were immense and EC Harris and the IWS Team rose to the challenge.

Adding value

• It was decided that DIUS would move into Kingsgate House - and the new programme was the DIUS London Accommodation Project (DLAP). Work started in the summer of 2007 and was finished by December 2007 - a very tight timetable of 12 weeks. Work involved a complete refurbishment slab to slab of 4 floors of Kingsgate House, all new services including cabling for laptops and an 8:10 desk ratio
  
• As part of the programme, Ministerial accommodation was created for five new Ministers and their entourages
  
• The overall reconfiguration of accommodation - despite the increase in numbers of staff, extra Ministers and improved accommodation, has resulted in annual savings of around £10 million on BERR’s accommodation costs.

 Download the BERR article [191kb]