David Bentley
Head of Asset Management
CIPFA
26 April 2013
Dear David
Thank you for giving evidence to the Finance Committee on 24 April 2013 for its inquiry into Asset Management. We found the session to be useful, and your evidence will inform our final report.
As I mentioned at the end of the meeting, the Committee raised a number of points on which we would like you to provide further information. I am grateful to you for agreeing to respond to those points in writing. If possible, it would be helpful to receive your response by Friday 3 May.
You agreed to address the following questions, specifically focusing on the situation in Wales:
· The Welsh Government’s capital strategy, the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP), refers to asset management only in terms of recognising the need to make better use of the asset base. In your view how should asset management in central government, and in the wider public sector, be linked into the WIIP in practice?
· In your paper, referring to Welsh local government asset management plans you state that most of these make some reference to strategic or policy objectives, but these references must be real in practice. In your experience, is it the case that such links are not real in practice, and if asset management is viewed as a support service in some quarters, as some of our evidence suggests, how can it be ensured that such strategic links are made more tangible?
· In your paper in relation to ‘Lessons learnt from Wales’[pages 13-14] you provide ten examples of where you have provided assistance to local authorities in relation to property management. Were these all Welsh local authorities and how do these arrangements arise, for example does the authority contact you for assistance with a project?
Thank you again for meeting with the Committee, and for agreeing to provide additional evidence. I look forward to hearing from you in relation to these matters.
Yours sincerely
Jocelyn Davies AC
Jocelyn Davies AM