Cabinet Office appoints property transformation lead

The Cabinet Office has appointed Saurabh Bhandari as director of property delivery and transformation. He will sit within the Office for Government Property and will be tasked with creating the sustainable and high-quality estate needed for modern government.  He will also be responsible for the ongoing improvement of facilities management in government buildings, continue the delivery of the One Public Estate programme, in partnership with the Local Government Association, and will provide expert leadership on the transformation in how data is used to enable property decision-making.  Saurabh joins the Office for Government Property from the New Hospitals Programme, where he is currently a director. He is an experienced property professional, having operated at director level on high-profile national property programmes in the public and private sectors.  Mark Chivers, government chief property officer, said: “Saurabh joining us further strengthens our executive team as we continue our journey to drive real, lasting improvements to the government estate, capitalising on public property to support public services and inspire economic growth in regions across the UK.” Bhandari added: “The power and potential of the public estate cannot be overstated. We have the opportunity to capitalise on this potential to drive real improvements – not only for our colleagues providing vital public services, but also for people and families up and down the country who can benefit from new jobs, homes, and economic growth.” The Office for Government Property is currently leading a number of projects across the government estate, including the Places for Growth programme, which is relocating more than 20,000 civil service roles out of London and into cities across the UK, driving major improvements to the quality, condition, and sustainability of the public estate, coordinating the ongoing management of the 140,000 buildings in the government portfolio. Bhandari will start his new role in May. Image from gov.uk