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19 July 2001

NEW NATIONAL ASSET REGISTER PUBLISHED

Click here to view the National Asset Register.

The Treasury today published an updated and improved National Asset Register (NAR), providing for the first time a comprehensive list and valuation of all assets owned by Government Departments and their executive agencies.

The Government is breaking new ground with this updated NAR, by including valuations of all assets and detailing changes in asset holdings since 1997. The UK is a world leader in this area of public accountability. No other country publishes a list of everything it owns and what it is worth.

The NAR is a key tool in the management of these public assets, and shows that during 1999-2000 alone £1.3 billion worth of surplus assets were disposed of, unlocking resources that can be used more productively elsewhere. The total value of the assets listed was £274 billion at the end of the 1999-2000.  

Welcoming publication of the NAR, Chief Secretary Andrew Smith said :

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“Government Departments are responsible on behalf of the public for significant assets. It is essential that these are managed as effectively as possible, to deliver value for money or to free up resources which can be better used elsewhere.

“The new NAR is central to this process. It is unparalleled. It is the most ambitious property inventory compiled in this country and the first such publication in the world. It is a clear, tangible benefit from the recent financial reforms of public finances, based on the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting principles.

“Resource accounting and budgeting measures, for the first time, the full costs of holding and using assets. Departments will have to meet these costs rather than being encouraged to overlook them as under previous arrangements, giving a clear incentive to dispose of costly non-productive assets. 

“This will focus the minds of public sector managers on getting the best value from the assets they are responsible for, and will make them more clearly accountable for their stewardship. The NAR shows the progress already made in improving asset management, and is a clear mark of our continuing commitment to better public finances.”

Examples of Departmental disposals of surplus assets include:

·        FCO disposed of almost £50 million of surplus land and buildings since 1997, including properties across Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East.

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·        Highways Agency disposed of £162 million of surplus roads and land and buildings.

·        MAFF disposed of over £210 million of surplus assets in 1999-00 alone, including sale of Hurworth House for over £10 million.  MAFF expects sales income of £26 million in the next two years.

·        MOD disposed of £234 million of assets in 1999-00, including Duke of York headquarters (£47m), Stanbridge Communication Centre (£17.5m) and Deepcut Barracks (£10m).

·        LCD disposed of almost £6 million of assets in 1999-00, including Uxbridge County Court (£3.7 million).

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. An initial NAR, listing all assets held by central Government Departments and their sponsored bodies in England, was published on 24 November 1997 (Treasury press release 148/97).

2. Today’s publication is the first fully detailed NAR, extending coverage to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and including valuations of all assets listed. It also sets out details of disposals and acquisitions between 1997 and 2000. 

3. The NAR covers all central government departments and their executive agencies (including Trading Funds), executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), NHS bodies, other public corporations and nationalised industries. Bodies outside the public sector that are funded or sponsored by Departments and NDPBs are not included.

4. The NAR does not include assets belonging to local authorities, which belong to them rather than to central Government. Information on their assets is included in their annual reports, and asset management in these bodies is being taken forward through Asset Management Plans. Copies of local authority annual accounts are available from the authorities themselves.

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5.The NAR includes all :

• tangible fixed assets (including military and heritage assets)
• intangible fixed assets (such as intellectual property rights)
• fixed asset investments (such as share holdings)

owned by Departments. Departments have followed normal accounting rules for the recognition of assets in deciding whether an asset should be included.

6. Non-operational heritage assets that may not, in some circumstances, appear on Departmental balance sheets have been included here, but as they are non-operational, and in many cases impossible to value, they have been valued at nil for the purposes of the NAR. As the NAR covers only fixed assets information on stocks and other current assets is not included.

7. Except where stated, the Register includes entries up to 31 March 2000. It does not take account of any subsequent organizational changes, such as the creation of new Departments. Transfers, acquisitions or disposals of assets resulting from these changes will be covered in the next edition of the National Asset Register.

8. The NAR can be accessed on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk. Printed copies are available from the Stationery Office (ISBN 0 10 1522112 6, CM No 5221, price £72.50).

9. Media enquiries about the detail of individual Departmental NAR entries should be addressed to the press office of the Department concerned.

10. Media enquiries about the background to the Government’s financial reforms, resource accounting and budgeting and the overview of the NAR should be addressed to Charles Keseru in the Treasury press office on 020 7270 5188.

11. If you have access to the internet, you can access this news release and other Treasury material at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

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