Hampshire County Council

Report to Policy & Resources PRC Item 7

01 February 2007

Furniture Replacement

Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services

1

Summary

1.1

At the last meeting of the Policy & Resources PRC, Members raised a number of questions regarding furniture procurement and replacement. This followed a request for information relating specifically to the Ashburton Court Refurbishment Project. This report responds to the following:

- Does Hampshire County Council have a policy on replacement furniture?

- Is there a Hampshire County Council policy with respect to recycling of furniture?

- How is furniture replacement budgeted for?

- How is the lifespan of furniture designated in order to plan for replacement?

2

Hampshire County Council Policy

2.1

Hampshire County Council does not have a specific `policy' on replacing furniture. The purchase and replacement of furniture is currently decided within each department and a wide range of furniture products is available through the County Council's Supplies Service. These products are available on the basis of tendered rates across a regional network of local authorities which gives best value through economies of scale and longer term purchasing arrangements with suppliers.

3

Recycling of Furniture

3.1

Hampshire County Council does not have an official policy relating to the recycling of furniture. Most departments have had furniture replacement programmes driven by:

- The demands of improving use of office space.

- Display Screen Equipment legislation requiring modern desking for IT purposes.

- Health & Safety best practice in relation to posture and avoiding workplace related injuries.

This has led to significant replacement of old and poorly ergonomic furniture which is of no further use and is only suitable for scrap. Where furniture has some potential use, a store at Bar End is available to keep this should the demand arise.

3.2

In relation to the Ashburton Court Project, a complete audit of all existing furniture including workstations, storage and equipment is currently being undertaken. This will enable an assessment to be made of the condition and suitability for re-use, either in the temporary relocations or the permanent building. A number of the County Council's preferred suppliers offer to recycle replaced or redundant furniture for use elsewhere in this or other countries. As markets develop and mature for recycled goods, of which furniture is one, then it will become more commonplace.

4

Furniture Budgets

4.1

The purchase of furniture is not budgeted centrally but is embedded in a number of places - within projects run by departments, within other departments' budgets and in schools where they make their own decisions on replacements and additions. Each department or establishment purchases furniture and equipment from the market available to them, including the County Supplies catalogue (available on-line). Further economies of scale could be achieved by being more centrally prescriptive but this would have an impact on local choice and specification to meet particular demands. There are other cases relating to new projects where a particular design or specification is appropriate to fit a particular location and give a suitable quality of place.

5

Planning for Replacement

5.1

All standard items of furniture purchased through County Supplies have a guarantee or expected life of at least five years for `normal use'. In practice, many items such as desks and filing systems will last considerably longer than this. There are no fixed replacement cycles - it depends on how it is used and how many times it is relocated. Another factor is changing work patterns and the need for flexibility. The Ashburton Court Project is a further development of flexible use of space in the County Council. Projects like Chantry House in Andover and Montgomery House in Winchester have been planned in a flexible way enabling more staff to use the same space. This is possible using modern IT and phone systems, whereby not all staff have a dedicated desk and occupancy can be increased making use of the additional capacity generated from not all staff being in the office at any one time. Utilisation studies will determine to what extent this is possible and relates to teams' and individuals' work patterns. Ashburton Court is being designed on the same principles and will continue to develop the principle of maximising efficiency of an expensive space resource.

5.2

In terms of planning for replacement generally, staff and managers are expected to monitor that the furniture in use is safe and `fit for purpose' and if it does not meet these requirements, then replacements should be planned and budgeted for.

Recommendation(s)

That:

1

The report be noted.