SUMMER 2025 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 28
GPSJ
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
FM leaders spotlight significant
challenges from upcoming council
devolution
Davy Clark, at SFG20, shares the top 昀椀ve FM challenges and risks involved with non-compliant maintenance of
council estates
The UK government is set to
reorganise a number of local
government structures, replacing
two-tier systems with singletier unitary authorities. The plan
aims to streamline operations
and reduce duplication, but the
merging may come with a new
set of challenges, particularly
for facilities management
professionals, who are
responsible for safe and compliant
maintenance of estates.
Councils are grappling with
ageing infrastructure, limited
budgets, rising legislative
demands, sta昀케ng shortages, and
the complexities of devolution.
These pressures risk a strain on
resources, making it increasingly
di昀케cult to maintain safe,
compliant, and e昀케cient estates
while balancing immediate
operational needs with long-term
planning.
Davy Clark, Implementation
Consultant at SFG20, the industry
standard for building maintenance,
has outlined the top 昀椀ve facilities
management challenges arising
from council devolution and the
risks involved with non-compliant
maintenance of council estates.
1. Varying standards and
practices
Merging teams from di昀昀erent
councils involves bringing
together di昀昀erent working
cultures, historic practices, and
management styles, risking
potential friction and resistance
to new ways of working. Councils
may adopt di昀昀erent approaches
to maintenance priorities,
compliance, procurement,
and risk tolerance, creating
inconsistencies and complicating
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benchmarking. This may even
lead to variable service quality
and increased compliance risk,
especially in multi-site or regional
portfolios.
2. Skills shortages and
capacity challenges
As responsibilities expand under
devolution, many councils
face skills gaps and capacity
constraints, inheriting new duties
without the relative boost in
resources or FM expertise.
Smaller, under-resourced
teams are particularly impacted,
struggling with strategic decisionmaking, contractor management,
and compliance, often with limited
tools and support. A recent study
from SFG20 revealed that 80%
of FM professionals say their
teams are understa昀昀ed, with 24%
reporting signi昀椀cant understa昀케ng*.
The di昀케culty in recruiting and
retaining skilled FM professionals
at a local level may further
complicate the challenge.
3. Managing complex asset
portfolios
A signi昀椀cant challenge for
devolved councils is managing
complex, ageing asset portfolios,
including schools, libraries, and
social housing. These assets
frequently require signi昀椀cant
capital investment or remedial
work, but budgets are typically
constrained. FM teams must
balance reactive maintenance,
planned preventative regimes, and
capital investment planning with
limited funding.
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SUMMER 2025
4. Procurement and supply
chain issues
The increased autonomy that
comes with devolution risks
complexities in procurement and
supply chain management. While
councils now have more freedom
in procurement, this autonomy
often comes without the bene昀椀t
of centralised frameworks or
economies of scale.
As a result, councils are
likely to duplicate procurement
e昀昀orts, risking higher costs, and
inconsistencies with suppliers.
This fragmentation of procurement
practices complicates e昀昀orts to
ensure service quality, regulatory
compliance, and the delivery of
social value.
5. Lack of assetlevel visibility in data
management
Finally, the shift towards
centralising property data across
increasingly complex estates has
raised concerns about the loss of
asset-level visibility. As councils
aggregate data to manage large
portfolios more e昀케ciently, there
may be a sacri昀椀ce in detail.
Outdated, incomplete, or lost
asset data, such as maintenance
history or regulatory status,
causes operational friction during
building handovers, service
transitions, or ownership changes.
This lack of visibility forces FM
teams into reactive decisions,
hindering strategic planning and
leading to delays, duplication, and
increased compliance risks.
Davy Clark, Implementation
Consultant at SFG20,says:
“The devolution of councils is
reshaping the facilities
management landscape by
presenting signi昀椀cant operational
and strategic challenges, including
fragmented standards, skills gaps,
complex procurement, and the
loss of asset-level data. FM teams
must adapt and innovate to meet
the growing demands of their
estates.
“Building management requires
strict compliance and safety.
Neglecting maintenance can
lead to severe consequences,
including multimillion-pound
昀椀nes, reputational damage, and
even imprisonment for injury
or fatalities. In 2023, Newham
Council faced 9,000 overdue
昀椀re risk assessments, 5,400
open repairs, and 40% of homes
lacking electrical tests for over 11
years. This led to a £25 million
task force to address damp and
mould, highlighting how neglecting
maintenance can far exceed the
cost of proactive care.
“Building safety issues often
arise from lapses in judgment
and poor asset management. To
ensure safety, FM teams must
ensure that asset registers across
all estates are up to date and
that all team members have a
thorough understanding of the
Golden Thread of Information, as
well as the risks associated with
non-compliance.
To learn about common building
maintenance compliance risks
and how to mitigate them, as well
as the main FM challenges arising
from council devolution, download
SFG20’s e-book by visiting:
www.sfg20.co.uk.”
