The Finance Committee undertook an inquiry into the process of Asset Management. In particular, the Committee explored:

• processes involved in the management of the Welsh Government’s own estate; and
• guidance, support and the promotion of good practice by the Welsh Government in relation to asset management across the wider Welsh public sector.

In the course of the inquiry, the Committee considered:

• is asset management linked to wider strategic and policy objectives, both in the Welsh Government, and across the wider public sector?
• what lessons can, or have, been learnt from existing good practice in Wales, or elsewhere, in relation to approaches to asset management improvement in the public sector?
• what progress has been made by the Welsh Government in strategic asset management and implementing initiatives to improve the efficiency of asset management across the Welsh public sector?
• in 2010 the Wales Audit Office made the following recommendations, from your experience, to what extent has progress been made in relation to these?

• the Assembly Government should enable more effective land and buildings management across Wales by consulting with public bodies to ascertain what further guidance, information, support and incentives may be required to encourage an improved and more co-ordinated approach to the management of land and buildings;
• ensure land and buildings strategies are up to date and link clearly with corporate and service objectives;
• involve all stakeholders in the development of land and buildings strategies with ownership of the strategies at the highest level.
• develop service land and buildings plans which link to the corporate land and buildings strategy;
• integrate land and buildings management with service planning, workforce planning and ICT strategies, doing more to improve utilisation through flexible working and land and buildings rationalisation;
• ensure roles and responsibilities for managing land and buildings are clearly defined, understood and communicated.