Understanding the estate
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-20)

The processes and documents you need to understand your estate.

Managing documents and data

Successful estate management relies on the collection, analysis, and storage of important documents and accurate data.

It is important that you understand:
- what estates information you hold
- how to store your information
- how to use your information
Effective management of your estates data and documents can give significant benefits, increase the effective use of resources and speed up the quality of decision making.

Documents and data

To manage your estate effectively, you will need some important documents and estates data.

While the precise nature of each college’s estate will dictate exactly what information it should hold, most colleges should hold key legal and operational documents including:

Legal documents
- deeds, title plans and registers (#tenure-and-ownership)
- leases and licences (#leases-and-licences)
- a comprehensive asset register (#asset-register)
- building condition (#condition) surveys
- grant, loan or mortgage documentation
- insurance policies
Operational documents
- maintenance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/making-best-use-of-the-estate#maintenance) plans and records
- statutory compliance (#statutory-compliance) records
- inspection records and test certificates
- building warranties and guarantees
- operation and maintenance manuals
- as-built drawings and floor plans
- digital information from building information modelling (BIM) (https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building_information_modelling_BIM)
- facilities management agreements
- energy performance certificates
- utilities, security, and other relevant contracts
- fire strategy
- asbestos register
In addition to these documents, you should collect and hold a wide variety of operational estates data. This will include data sets which do not change much over time, such as the number of sites within your estate or the gross internal area (GIA) of buildings, as well as data sets which are important or strategic for reporting purposes, such as energy consumption or running costs.

Operational estates data should include:
- site information, including number of sites, names and addresses
- building information, including construction date, method of construction, type of building and size of building
- tenure and ownership (#tenure-and-ownership) information and title details
- lease terms (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/buying-selling-and-leasing-property#leasing-property), including expiry and break dates
- space measurements, including GIAs
- room usage, including capacity and utilisation (#floor-space-planning)
- condition and functionality assessments
- energy and water consumption, contract terms and costs – further education sustainable estates guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-sustainable-estates-guidance) gives more information
- capital expenditure
- property management information and costs
- insurance premiums, renewal dates and replacement values
- service charges, if applicable
- rateable values and business rates paid (https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates)
- schedule of repair and maintenance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/making-best-use-of-the-estate#maintenance) costs
- cleaning information and costs
- security information and costs
All colleges hold and generate various types of data about their estates. This information usually comes from a variety of sources.

To help you manage your estate effectively, you should ensure that you have policies in place to collect, store and manage data and key documents.

Case study: Bridgwater and Taunton College

Operating and maintenance manuals for every building project were thoroughly reviewed by the project manager and Head of Estates. It was essential to ensure that these were accurate, and all manuals provided.

This review is critical to ensuring that instructions are comprehensive and provide risk mitigation for the future as incomplete information can seriously delay future projects. An important part of this work was also to ensure that there was room coding alignment between the building manual and the college room numbering and estates records. This is often overlooked as part of operating and maintenance checking but ensures that the manuals are practically useful for future reference and easily understood in the case of fire plans and other health and safety issues.

The team’s good practice in ensuring omissions and mistakes were corrected ensured a complete set of manuals will always be available. Once reviewed and complete, all manuals were stored electronically for security and ease of access.

Collecting, storing and managing data

Estates documents and data are of little strategic use if they are held in disparate parts of your college, are understood only by individuals rather than formally recorded, or are held in inconsistent formats and styles.

Effective practice point

A named responsible individual such as the college clerk or finance director should be responsible for the collection, storage, back-up, maintenance, and security of key estates documents and property data. This designated person, or data controller, such as the clerk or finance director, should make sure estates documents are understood, co-ordinated and managed effectively across your college.

In practice, documents may be held in different places, or alternatively they may all be stored in a single electronic file, but the named individual is responsible for co-ordinating the estates records and checking with other managers where and how information is stored.

The data controller with overall responsibility for estates information may choose to appoint other staff from the college’s estates team, or elsewhere within the college, to provide them with regular updates and reports on estates data. You need to understand the needs of your college before deciding on how best to manage your estates information.

You can use web-based collaborative platforms and data management software to:
- centralise storage of estates information
- control access to data
- monitor data capture and usage
Where possible, you should try to store and manage your estates data in a single system as it both reduces the need to manage several different systems and lowers the risk of data duplication and reporting errors.

Whatever approach you take, you should ensure that your data storage and management system is able to:
- accept all data types that you need for your organisation
- provide data input control to ensure accuracy and consistency
- be easy to use and provide support and training where required
- allow many users to use it at the same time
- store and manage documents
- interface with other systems
- allow data migration and data updating
- provide reporting functions
- provide a full audit process
The data controller should lead on establishing and maintaining a clear understanding of data requirements across your whole organisation.

Effective practice point

When appointing consultants, you should make sure that any technical estates data supplied by them is provided in a format which is compatible with your data storage and management system.

Using estates data

As well as playing an important role in day-to-day estate management, your estates data can be used in the short, medium and long-term to monitor your performance against various key performance indicators (KPIs) and support strategic objectives.

Your senior leaders and governors should establish which core estates data they wish to see reported. These might include:
- energy and water consumption and costs
- property management costs
- room utilisation rates
- maintenance expenditure
- statutory compliance
- rent reviews
- expiration dates
- break dates
This information can be used in conjunction with other data held by the college, such as curriculum information or learner numbers, to provide valuable insights into how best to manage the estate.

Data retention

When dealing with estates data, you should implement a data retention policy to ensure that data is stored for the correct period of time (either for the purposes of best practice or for practical requirements).

Table giving typical data retention periods

Other legislation

Types of data are also subject to legislation (for example UK GDPR (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/) in respect of personal data) or are necessary to evidence compliance with statutory regulations (#statutory-compliance).

Tenure and ownership

To manage your estates, you need to understand how you own the property from which you operate.

Types of ownership

There are 2 types of ownership for non-residential property:
- freehold involves a person or organisation owning property outright, including the land upon which it is situated
- leasehold involves property being leased from a landlord to a tenant for a fixed amount of time by way of a legal contract
Titles, deeds and registration

A title is the legal right of ownership for land and property. When a property is sold, the seller transfers the title of the property to the buyer.

Deeds are the legal documents which show the ownership history of a property. These documents can include contracts for sale, conveyances, and transfers.

HM Land Registry (https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry) registers the ownership of land and property in England and Wales.

You can check to confirm that all your eligible property is registered with HM Land Registry. If it is not registered, you can take action to register it (https://www.gov.uk/registering-land-or-property-with-land-registry/register-for-the-first-time).

If any land or property is not registered with HM Land Registry, deeds are used to prove ownership.

Each property registered with HM Land Registry, whether freehold or leasehold, is assigned a title number. Each title number has a related title register and title plan.

Effective practice point

You should make sure that, as a college, you know where all deeds are held as these may be needed in a range of situations including mergers or property sales, and providing evidence of security granted against existing loans. Typically, the deeds will be held by your legal advisers. You should check and confirm all records are up to date on a regular basis.

Title register

The title register describes the title of the land and is divided up into 3 sections:
- property register, providing a brief description of the title (including whether it is freehold or leasehold), the property, its address and any benefits attached to the land
- proprietorship register, containing the name and address of the owner and any restrictions affecting the property or the owner’s ability to dispose of the land
- charges register, including details of anything burdening the property such as restrictive covenants, easements, and mortgages
Title plan

The title plan is a plan which shows the extent of the property described in the title register. The boundary of the land or property in question will usually be outlined in red with any other rights (such as rights of way) shaded in different colours in accordance with what is described in the title register.

Based on Ordnance Survey mapping, title plans are accurate, scaled drawings which should include:
- a north point
- a bar scale
- the general location of the land or property by showing surrounding roads, landmarks, or other features
Leases and licences

When planning your estate strategy and reviewing your assets, you should include all the assets that you hold, not just those that you own freehold. Many colleges own and occupy property by way of commercial leases.

This section deals with the existing leases and licences to which your college may be party. The section on leasing property (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/buying-selling-and-leasing-property#leasing-property) provides guidance on what to consider when entering into a new lease.

What leases are

Leases are contracts granted by a landlord to a tenant, which give the tenant the right to use and exclusively occupy a property for a fixed period of time in exchange for a rent. Unless these arrangements are for a period of less than 3 years, leases should be documented in writing and signed by each party. But it is good practice to document an occupancy of any length so that both landlord and tenants are clear on their rights and obligations.

Further guidance on leasing property is included in the leasing property (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/buying-selling-and-leasing-property#leasing-property) section of this manual.

You should regularly review your leased property holdings, which you can do as part of the preparation or updating of your estate strategy. When dealing with leased property, all documents and records relevant to the property should be clearly filed and kept easily accessible.

Understanding key terms

The exact terms and conditions of a lease will depend on the property in question. You should understand the common terms used in commercial leases so that you are aware of your rights and obligations in relation to any leasehold property you own.

Common key terms include:

Property: the details of the property being leased to the tenant is usually described with reference to the lease plan. The property is often outlined in red. Reference may also be made to any other rights granted to the tenant such as rights of way, parking areas or bin stores, which may also be highlighted on the plan to avoid any misinterpretation

Term: the period of time the property is being leased for

Rent: the annual rent or principal rent is the amount of money payable per annum. It is common for commercial rents to be paid quarterly in advance. You should establish whether VAT is to be charged on commercial rent payments as this can have a significant impact on the total cost of leasehold property

Use: specifies the allowable uses of the property which the landlord consents to. This may refer to a particular planning use class. This differs from what the property can be statutorily used for. You should check the contractual use permitted by the lease is in line with the planning use permitted by the local authority. Often lawyers will do this as part of their due diligence prior to grant of a lease

Rent review: when the existing level of rent is reviewed and the new rent established. Rent reviews are typically ‘upward only’ and are determined with reference to either market conditions or inflation. Either way, the mechanisms for determining and negotiating a new rent during a review can be complex so you should consider seeking professional advice

Break clause: a point at which one or either party can terminate the lease before expiry, usually by serving notice upon the other party in advance. The break clause will often contain specific obligations that need to be met for a break to be effective, such as the way the notice is served, timing of notices (typically 3 to 6 months before the break date), all rent payments being up to date and the tenant no longer being in occupation. You may need to take professional advice to ensure a break is properly exercised. A break clause can be a useful tool for a tenant as it can provide the opportunity to exit a lease if circumstances or requirements change

Repair: explains which party is responsible for repair of the property. This may specify that part of the property, such as the structure, remains the responsibility of the landlord, while the tenant must maintain the interior of the property. Make sure that you fully understand your repairing liability and maintain the property in this condition throughout the course of the lease. The landlord may have rights to enforce repairing covenants at any time during the lease and will usually claim any breach of repair as dilapidations following expiry of the lease

Service or estates charge: if the property forms part of a larger building or estate, there may be a service charge or estates charge payable. This clause will specify the obligations on the landlord to provide specific services, as well as their rights to recover a proportion of cost from the tenant. Service charge rents are usually collected quarterly in advance, based on a pre agreed budget for the year

Alienation: explains if and how the tenant may share, sub-let or assign part or the whole of the property with any other party and the terms and conditions for such an arrangement

Alterations: explains what alterations the landlord will permit and what permissions need to be sought before works are commenced. It should be noted that landlords may require tenants to reinstate the property at the end of the lease if the tenant has undertaken works

Insurance: explains which party should insure the property, the risks that are to be insured against and who will pay for the insurance. In some cases, the landlord may insure the property and recover the cost of the insurance policy from the tenant

Security of tenure: the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/2-3/56/part/II) gives tenants a statutory right to remain in occupation of its leasehold property even after its lease expires. This is known as ‘security of tenure’. However, these rights can be excluded from a lease if both parties agree to this in advance and enter into a declaration to this effect. This is known as ‘contracting out’ and means that at the end of the lease the tenant will have no statutory right to a new lease

Effective practice point

When a lease is signed and completed, you should keep a copy in your estates document file for future reference. You might find it helpful to summarise the key terms of the lease in a simple, easily accessible format called a lease summary, which can be shared with colleagues to ensure that rights and obligations are understood by all relevant parties.

You should diarise all lease dates and events at the outset of the lease, so that you do not miss any obligations or opportunities for change. These may include:
- rent payment dates
- dates of any rent reviews or break clauses and relevant notice periods
- date of expiry
Licences

Your college may also use or occupy property under the terms of a licence. Unlike a lease, a licence does not confer any ownership or interest in land to the occupier (licensee). Instead, a licence is a less formal arrangement which simply allows the licensee to enter or use land or property. A licence can be terminated by either party and is often used by colleges for activities such as hiring sports pitches.

The terms of any licence will depend on the land or property in question but will typically include details of:
- the property owner (the licensor)
- the person being granted the right to use the land (the licensee)
- the property including how and when it may be used
Licences are often granted for a fixed period of time. Payment for a licence is by a licence fee. Termination of a licence agreement will depend on the terms of the licence. Licences do not offer the same statutory protections as leases.

It is important that you understand the terms of any licences your college holds.

Asset management strategy

Tangible assets are physical property owned by your college, usually:
- land
- buildings
- equipment assets
Managing public money (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money) sets out that:

Each organisation needs to devise an appropriate asset management strategy to define how it acquires, maintains, tracks, deploys and disposes of the various kinds of assets it uses.

And that its asset management strategy should be:

underpinned by a reliable and up to date asset register. The board should review the strategy annually as part of the corporate or business plan

It may be helpful to think of your:
- estates strategy as the ‘what and why’ of asset management: for example, your plan for your site including the construction, development, purchase or sale of assets to support your educational delivery plans
- asset management strategy as the ‘how’ of asset management: for example, what methods you use to buy and sell assets, how these transactions are approved and how you use, record, track and maintain your assets
Effective practice point

Many colleges might already hold the information required to complete an asset management strategy, for example in existing financial procedures, or documented planned maintenance programmes. You could consider drawing these together in a concise, one-page summary asset strategy to present annually to the board with financial plans. Or you could include the asset strategy as a section of your annually-approved financial regulations.

Holding complete, good quality information on the assets that you hold is essential to support this requirement.

Asset register

An asset register is a schedule of all of the land, property and equipment assets owned by your college and should include both freehold and leasehold properties.

The asset register is a key working document. The preparation, management and integrity of the asset register should be the responsibility of a senior administrator within the college.

Typically, the asset register is the responsibility of the head of finance, who will set up the necessary systems to ensure that there are well thought out procedures in place for:
- recording new assets
- checking for impairment (that is: a loss of value of the asset)
- authorising disposal of old assets
These systems might form part of the central finance system, or they might be standalone. If they are standalone, they need to be easy to update and link to other reporting tools.

Due to its importance as both a financial record and an estate management tool, you should review the asset register every month to make sure it aligns with your finance records and is fully up-to-date.

Effective practice point

If your asset register is well maintained, uses a good reporting system and is integrated with your other college systems, it can be a very useful source of information about your asset base recording:
- basic information about the location, value and age of assets
- monitoring and reporting of property information, including performance, testing and compliance schedules
Alternatively, it might be linked with integrated systems which report these separately. The important thing is that it is up-to-date and automatically linked to other current property information databases that you need to manage your college well, without intensive manual intervention. It should be easy to maintain and at the core of your central property information file.

What to include within the asset register

The level of detail recorded about each asset held may vary from one college to another, but as a minimum your college asset register should include:
- unique asset reference number or identifier
- asset name
- description of the asset
- full address including postcode
- asset type
- tenure (freehold or leasehold)
- operational status
This information will help provide clarity about your college’s assets under ownership.

A more detailed asset register could create a central database of key property information including:
- size of the property or gross internal area (GIA)
- title number
- condition
- functionality
- lease terms (including expiry and break dates)
- purchase price
- energy performance and running costs
- maintenance records
- testing requirements
- grants, loans or mortgages
- insurance information
- certificates and warranties
- floor plans and drawings
- photographs
An asset register is an important document for listing your college’s land and property assets. By broadening its scope and maintaining its contents, it can also be a valuable estate management tool.

Effective practice point

You should check regularly that your asset register agrees with your finance system. The register should match the finance fixed asset record and balance sheet. If they do not agree, you should know what the differences are and why they exist. If this reconciliation work does not happen regularly, there is a risk that your organisational accounts are not recording all of your existing assets or are recording assets that you no longer hold. This can lead to major financial accounting errors and produce impacts on your financial reporting and organisational regularity.

Principles of floor space planning

Floor space planning is a fundamental part of successful estate planning. A data-led approach to floor space planning can help you understand:
- how many learners your college can accommodate
- how learners use different areas of your site
- how to improve the efficiency of your estate
- where to prioritise areas for investment
Floor space planning requires comprehensive data collection and detailed analysis. There are some important principles which you should understand when assessing your space requirements.

Assessment of teaching space

Before you can calculate your college’s learner capacity and its existing levels of utilisation, you will need to gather accurate information about the teaching spaces within your estate. This involves working out:
- how much teaching space you have across your estate
- where the teaching space is
- what the teaching space is used for
In this context, teaching space is any room or space in which teaching is delivered by a teacher to students. This includes:
- classrooms
- lecture theatres
- science labs
- engineering workshops
- catering kitchens where teaching takes place
- beauty salons where teaching takes place
This information should be collected, kept up to date and organised clearly so that you have an easily accessible record of all teaching spaces.

The first step of this process involves simply identifying all teaching spaces and recording:
- room names or numbers: a consistent reference format should be adopted across the college to identify each space, its location within a building and within the wider estate
- room size: the GIA for each room, in square metres
Once you know how much teaching space your college has, you should determine how each room is used so you can understand the college’s learner capacity.

Room use and capacity

To understand how many learners each teaching space can accommodate, colleges should first categorise each space according to how it is used. This is typically done by assigning each space a use category. This process will enable you to determine not only how much teaching space you have, but also how the space is split across various different room types, and how many of each type of room you have within the estate.

This differentiation of room types is an important part of space planning, as some subject areas require more floor space per learner than others.

Once you know the way a space is used, it is possible to calculate its capacity. In the context of space planning, this is the number of learners that can be accommodated at any one time. This is normally calculated with reference to the average amount of space each learner is likely to require for a subject to be taught. This amount of space per learner is known as a workplace. Standard further education (FE) room types and average workplace areas are given in the table.

Department for Education (DfE) provides guidance on the design and specification of FE colleges through the Further Education Output Specification. A more detailed list of room types is included in the DfE FE Colleges Schedule of Accommodation template (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mainstream-schools-schedule-of-accommodation-tools).

With information on the size and room type of each teaching space, the approximate capacity is calculated by dividing the size of the room by the appropriate workplace, as below:

Example of calculating existing capacity per room Catering kitchen @ 80 square metres. ÷ 6.5 square metres /workplace = capacity for 12 learners

If a general estimate of the number of workplaces across a college is required, a simple average workplace allowance of 3.1 square metres (2.8 square metres for sixth form colleges) per workplace can be adopted.

By dividing the GIA of a college’s total teaching space by 3.1 square metres, a general estimate of the number of workplaces within the college can be calculated.

Example of calculating the number of workplaces Teaching space GIA @ 7,595 square metres. ÷ 3.1 square metres/workplace = 2,450 workplaces

By following the steps above, you can quickly determine how much space and capacity your college currently has. The more challenging process is working out how much space your college needs.

Calculating space requirements

The assessment of your college’s space requirements is important when developing an estates strategy and forecasting how best to accommodate current and future learners.

There are 2 approaches to college floor space planning:
- planned guided learning hours method which seeks to forecast the amount of floor space required based on the number of planned guided learning hours. This method can also be used to allocate floor space between different types of activity
- observed workplace utilisation method which seeks to demonstrate the demand for workplaces within a college by observing actual use of teaching spaces for a period of time
Where possible, these approaches should be used simultaneously so that you can check that similar results are achieved with both methods. Many colleges prefer to rely on just the planned guided learning hours methodology due to the time and cost involved in the observed workplace utilisation method. Where this is the case, you should try to test your planned guided learning hours method findings by undertaking some sample checks using the observed workplace utilisation method.

Even in colleges with little change in curriculum or estate, you should aim to undertake a space assessment annually, or at least every 3 years, to link in with the review of your estates strategy.

Planned guided learning hours method

This approach to floor space planning assesses demand for space based on the planned amount of on-site guided learning hours delivered to each student over the course of a year.

In this context, guided learning means on-site contact time where a member of staff is present and is delivering learning to a student. The best source for this data is your own record of actual student activity, such as year-end attendance data and the individualised learner records (ILRs).

Estimated attendances and timetables are not a reliable source of data for the planned guided learning hours method.

Full-time 16 to 19 study programmes are funded on the basis of between 580 and 640 hours of delivery per year though this varies depending on the programme and some elements of delivery (for example work experience) do not take place in the college. Part-time students should be represented with the appropriate number of guided learning hours.

Most colleges deliver the majority of their guided learning during the daytime. As a result, the planned guided learning hours method focuses on activity planned during a standard 8-hour day. This is typically between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday for 36 weeks per year.

For the purposes of space efficiency, you should not plan for days of fewer than 8 hours, although if you have significant travel-to-learn issues, you may need to adapt your analysis accordingly.

A simple example of the calculation used to determine your college’s planned guided learning hours is as below.

Example of calculating planned guided learning hours 1,950 students @ 580 hours = 1,131,000 hours 970 students @ 290 hours = 281,300 hours 620 students @ 145 hours = 89,900 hours

Total planned guided learning hours = 1,502,200 hours

The next step involves calculating the planned average attendance (PAA) which is the average number of learners you expect to have on site at any one time. The PAA is therefore also the minimum number of workplaces you require to accommodate the learners. The PAA shows the average number of workspaces occupied during a typical 8-hour day.

The PAA is calculated with reference to the teaching hours available during term time. It is also based on 8-hour days, 5 days a week for 36 weeks or 1,440 hours.

The total planned guided learning hours is divided by 1,440.

Example of calculating planned average attendance 1,502,200 guided learning hours ÷ 1,440 total teaching hours = 1,043 PAA

With an understanding of the minimum number of workplaces required, or PAA, it is possible to calculate your college’s level of utilisation.

Utilisation is the measure of how often each workplace within a college is used during the year. It is calculated by dividing the PAA by the number of workplaces.

Example of calculating utilisation rate as a percentage 1,043 PAA ÷ 2,450 workplaces = 43% utilisation rate

While utilisation rates will depend on the type and mix of spaces within your college, you should always aim to maximise your college’s levels of utilisation and space efficiency.

Effective practice point Land-based colleges are more difficult to assess in terms of space utilisation due to the nature of the facilities they have and the way those spaces are used. If your college is a land-based college, your utilisation studies should generally focus only on classroom spaces and not spaces such as barns or arenas.

If your college has low levels of space utilisation, you can work out how much teaching space you actually require by dividing your planned average attendance by a target utilisation rate, as below:

Example of calculating required workplaces 1,043 PAA ÷ Target utilisation rate of, say, 50% = 2,086 workplaces.

2,086 workplaces x 3.1 square metres = 6,467 square metres of teaching space

These examples show that the planned guided learning hours method can be used to assess how well utilised your existing college is, and how much teaching space is required to cater for your learners.

Observed workplace utilisation method

The observed workplace utilisation method uses a number of the same principles as the planned guided learning hours approach. The main difference is that, instead of using your college data to determine planned levels of activity, the approach relies on observation of your actual teaching space use.

Data suggests that many colleges over-estimate both the amount of space required for some activities and the level of utilisation certain spaces achieve. It is also common for colleges to over-estimate their forecast growth in learner numbers. Consequently, the results of observed workplace assessments tend to suggest lower levels of utilisation than those based on a planned guided learning hours approach.

Case study: Trafford Colleges Group

Trafford Colleges Group (TCG) commissioned external consultants to undertake a physical room utilisation survey at Stockport College in 2018. This informed the design and specification for the major redevelopment of the campus, having questioned the findings from a previous study carried out pre-merger.

The room utilisation survey highlighted very low overall utilisation at 10.8%. It provided options to improve utilisation through smarter timetabling of classes and strategies for flexible working. The college’s overall target for space utilisation on completion of the redevelopment project is 40%.

Read the full TCG case study (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/case-study-trafford-college-group-tcg) to find out more about how they’ve managed their estate.

To make sure that an assessment using the observed workplace utilisation method is as accurate as possible, the observation needs to be undertaken correctly. A robust observation exercise should entail an hourly student head count, undertaken on a room-by-room basis, between 9am and 5pm over a 40-hour college week.

You should ensure that the observation survey is undertaken during a typical week and not one where disruption or irregular activities, such as exams or holidays, are scheduled to occur. Many colleges undertake periods of observation during October or November each year.

An observation survey will provide you with accurate data on the total number of student contact hours during a typical week. This can be used to calculate the observed average attendance (OAA). This is the sum of all observed hours divided by the number of hourly counts per room.

Example of calculating observed average attendance (OAA) 34,950 observed hours ÷ 40 hourly counts per room = 874 OAA

Inevitably, not all students attend all lessons and not all lessons proceed as planned. Consequently, your OAA will usually be lower than your PAA. If there is a major discrepancy between the figures determined through using planned and observed assessments, there may be an issue with how your guided learning hours data was calculated.

Levels of space utilisation can be measured by dividing the OAA by the number of workplaces.

Example of calculating utilisation rate (%) 874 OAA ÷ 2,086 workplaces = 42% utilisation rate

As with the planned guided learning hours method, where utilisation levels are low, you can work out how much teaching space you require by dividing your observed average attendance by a target utilisation rate.

Example of calculating required workplaces 874 OAA ÷ target utilisation rate of 50% for example = 1,748 workplaces.

1,748 workplaces x 3.1 square metres = 5,419 square metres of teaching space

As shown through the worked examples above, you can use the observed average attendance method to assess how well utilised your existing college is, and how much teaching space is required to cater for your learners.

Effective practice point

Sometimes you may wish to use the underlying principles set out above to perform a simplified calculation in order to arrive at a utilisation measurement. Another way to set out the utilisation calculation is to calculate:

Accommodation frequency % x seat occupancy % = utilisation %

Accommodation frequency

The accommodation frequency for a teaching space or group of teaching spaces is the proportion of timetabled hours to available hours, expressed as a percentage. Using an 8-hour day, 5-day week and 36-week academic year, there are typically 1,440 hours annually available. If a teaching space is timetabled for 1,152 of these, the accommodation frequency for that space would be 80%.

Seat occupancy

Seat occupancy represents the proportion of the seats that are occupied when rooms are in use. So, for example, if a classroom has a capacity of 30 and there are 15 students on the register of the group timetabled into it, the occupancy for that session would be 50%. Where this is measured over a period of time or across a number of rooms, averages should be used. It is recommended however that the number of active students on the register is used as the headcount, rather than the average number attending.

Utilisation

The teaching space utilisation is simply the product of the frequency and occupation rates.

Using the examples above, a classroom timetabled with an accommodation frequency of 80% and seat occupancy of 50% would have a utilisation rate of 40%.

Planning for non-teaching space

Teaching is the core activity of any college, and this is why capacity and utilisation work focuses on teaching space. However, around 55% of the total floor space in colleges is typically used for non-teaching activities, including:
- administrative offices
- cafeterias
- staff rooms
- libraries
- IT suites
- toilets
- sports halls/gyms
- independent study spaces
- corridors, lobbies and stairwells
Non-teaching space areas are often essential to the successful functioning of a college. Space planning data suggests that you should allow for between 13 square metres and 14.5 square metres per PAA when looking at the total floorspace required within your college.

Example of calculating total floorspace requirement 1,043 PAA x 14.5 square metres = 15,124 square metres GIA

In the examples used above, there is a 43/57 split between teaching (6,467 square metres) and non-teaching space (8,657 square metres). As with all of these examples, this is shown for indicative purposes only and a more detailed analysis is required to fully understand a college’s floor space requirements.

Case study: BHASVIC

When working out space utilisation, you need to consider frequency (% of available timetabled hours filled by a course provision in a room) and occupancy (% of students attending of student seats available).

BHASVIC conducted a thorough analysis of its floor space utilisation via an external consultant, which further calculated utilisation based on both theoretical occupancy and actual occupancy.

This was nuanced in the utilisation calculation because there were theoretical numbers of available student seats in every room according to the room’s original functional planning but seats actually available were different. The calculation took account of both sets of data and compared actual student attendance with both seat availability metrics.

This methodology might not support all capital grant application requirements but could be useful for understanding utilisation and for planning internally.

More detailed information about space allowances for non-teaching space can be found in DfE’s schedule of accommodation template (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mainstream-schools-schedule-of-accommodation-tools).

The principles outlined above are aimed at helping you to understand how your capacity and utilisation is central to effective estate management and strategic planning.

An assessment of the space you have and how it is used can be a useful indicator of your college’s operational efficiency. Despite this, space planning should always be viewed in the context of the wider estate. Any proposed reduction or increase in space should always be assessed thoroughly to ensure value for money. Any changes which could be classed as novel, contentious or repercussive (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bite-size-guides-to-aid-colleges-in-meeting-new-requirements-following-reclassification/college-requirements-for-novel-contentious-and-repercussive-transactions) need to be discussed with DfE before proceeding.

Town planning considerations, including Listed Buildings

If your college has constructed new buildings, or made significant changes to your existing property, you will likely be aware of the town planning system in England.

Advising on planning risk and the preparation and submission of planning applications (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-an-application) is a specialised and highly technical undertaking. You should seek advice from a planning professional when looking to secure planning permission for college development of any kind.

For colleges, town planning should not be something you consider only when making a planning application. It is always helpful to understand local and national planning policy, and how it affects your college.

The role of town planning

Town planning makes sure that the right development happens in the right place at the right time, and that it benefits communities and the economy. Town planning plays a critical role in identifying:
- what development is needed and where
- what areas need to be protected or enhanced
- whether proposed development is suitable
You will better understand your estate if you are aware of how town planning policies and associated restrictions might affect it.

Planning policy

Planning policy in England is made at both a national and local level.

The National Planning Policy Framework (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework) (NPPF) sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are applied. The policies and principles established in the NPPF are relevant to colleges in that they shape how local plans are prepared and how local planning decisions are made.

Local plans (https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/about-the-planning-system/local-plans) are produced by every local council and are the main documents through which the council, as the local planning authority, can set out a vision and framework for the future development of their area and engagement with their communities. It is the central planning document for a local area and sets out planning policies and proposals for new development for the next 15 to 20 years.

Local plans address needs and opportunities in relation to:
- housing
- the local economy
- community facilities
- infrastructure, including colleges
They should:
- protect the environment
- enable adaptation to climate change
- help secure high quality accessible design
The local plan provides a policy framework for guiding decisions on individual planning applications.

The production of a local plan takes many years. While the process is led by the local planning authority, it should be a collaborative exercise involving:
- landowners
- employers
- developers
- local community representatives
- other key stakeholders
Effective practice point

You should be aware of the local plan for your area, particularly as it relates to your estate. You should also be aware of the local planning authority’s plans for updating and renewing its local plan. You should also actively engage in the process (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-making) when appropriate, both to highlight the development needs of the college to the council, and the potential for the college estate to develop to meet other council priorities such as housing.

Planning designations, protections, and restrictions

Local and national planning policy also lays the foundation for many designations, protections and restrictions relating to how land can be used.

You should make sure that you are aware of any considerations which may impact on how you manage, use, or develop your estate. These may include:
- listed buildings and designated heritage assets
- conservation areas
- green belts
Listed buildings and designated heritage assets

Historic England maintains a statutory list (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/) of buildings and heritage assets of special architectural or historic interest in England and Wales. There are 3 categories of listed buildings:
- Grade I - Buildings of exceptional interest
- Grade II* - Buildings of particular importance
- Grade II - Buildings of special architectural or historic interest
Listed buildings are statutorily protected and alterations of almost any kind, including internal works, require listed building consent (https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/consent/lbc/).

If you have a listed building within your estate, you should be aware that it is a legal requirement for listed buildings to be appropriately maintained. You should also ensure that specialist insurance is in place for any listed buildings you own.

Other designated heritage assets include:
- scheduled monuments
- registered parks or gardens
- registered battlefields
- world heritage sites
- conservation areas
Some local authorities have their own local list of heritage assets. These may include:
- buildings
- parks or gardens of local interest, quality or significance
- archaeological priority areas
Locally listed buildings do not have the same statutory protections as listed buildings.

Effective practice point

Listed buildings can sometimes be a treasured and emblematic college asset that makes a real statement to the local community. However, listed buildings can sometimes be poorly suited to modern teaching methods, expensive to maintain, difficult to use efficiently and carry a high carbon footprint. The benefits and drawbacks of retaining listed buildings within a college’s property portfolio will need to be considered carefully as part of your overall estates strategy.

Conservation areas

Some colleges may find that their estates sit within, or adjacent to, a conservation area. Conservation areas are typically designated by the local planning authority and are protected due to their special architectural or historic interest.

A property within a conservation area will be subject to extra planning controls and considerations which may include restrictions relating to:
- external alterations
- felling of trees
- demolition works
- permitted development rights
- other land-based designations
You should contact your local planning authority if you have property within a conservation area and want to better understand what special controls might be in place.

Green belts

A green belt (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/green-belt) area is land around a built-up area such as a town or city which is protected by local planning policy to keep it permanently undeveloped. There are more than 12 green belt areas in England.

The protections given to green belt areas mean that it is very difficult to get planning permission for any form of new development within them.

Many colleges will find that parts, if not all, of their sites are classified as green belt and should be aware of this when considering development plans and reviewing emerging local plan proposals.

In London, land designated as Metropolitan Open Land (https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/past-versions-and-alterations-london-plan/london-plan-2016/london-plan-chapter-seven-londons-living-spac-19) is given the same level of protection from development as green belt land.

Other land-based designations

There are a wide range of other land-based designations and protections which can affect the use and development of land. These include:
- areas of outstanding natural beauty (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/areas-of-outstanding-natural-beauty-aonbs-designation-and-management#:~:text=An%20area%20of%20outstanding%20natural,must%20follow%20to%20manage%20AONBs%20.)
- national parks (https://www.nationalparksengland.org.uk/)
- sites of special scientific interest (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-areas-sites-of-special-scientific-interest)
- Ramsar sites (https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/ramsar-sites/)
- special protection areas (https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/special-protection-areas-overview/)
- marine conservation zones (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/marine-conservation-zone-designations-in-england)
- heritage coasts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heritage-coasts-protecting-undeveloped-coast/heritage-coasts-definition-purpose-and-natural-englands-role)
- tree preservation orders (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-preservation-orders-and-trees-in-conservation-areas)
If you own or operate property with one or more of these designations, you need to make sure that your estate is being managed in an appropriate way. You should check to see if any designations apply to your site and follow the relevant governmental or regulatory guidance.

Colleges can use the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) MAGIC map (https://magic.defra.gov.uk/home.htm) tool to search Natural England’s maps and data, which includes details of habitats and species types, designated sites, landscape types and environmental schemes.

Flood risk information is an important planning consideration. You can check for information about your site’s flood risk by using the flood map for planning (https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/) tool.

Colleges can visit the Planning Portal (https://www.planningportal.co.uk/) for more advice about planning applications, policy and building control.

If you are considering a new development for your college, you should consider getting pre-application advice (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/before-submitting-an-application) from your Local Planning Authority (https://www.planningportal.co.uk/find-your-local-planning-authority). It is not compulsory, but it does offer significant potential to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of your development project. Development outcomes are generally better if you engage early on with your local planning authority.

Condition

You need to understand the condition of your estate so that you can:
- plan your maintenance works while minimising the risk of having to carry out costly, unforeseen emergency repairs
- prioritise investment and assess options for improvement as part of your estates strategy
- consider the condition when making the case for grant funding
Condition surveys

You should carry out a condition survey to determine the condition of property. Qualified chartered building surveyors carry out condition surveys when they inspect property. This is with the purpose of:
- assessing the property’s state of repair
- identifying and prioritising what work needs to be completed to maintain the property
- how much any works are likely to cost
The results of the condition survey form the basis of the work required to be completed. Usually, the surveyors will estimate the timelines for each repair. Condition surveys are important for deciding on the priority and sequence of your capital work plan. They also provide a basis for accurate capital budgeting.

A condition survey should identify specific deficiencies and maintenance requirements of the physical, electrical, and mechanical condition of the property. It should include an assessment of items such as:
- structure
- roofs
- building fabric
- windows and doors
- mechanical and electrical installations
- asbestos
- utilities
- sewage and drainage
- fire safety and security
- site layout
- achievement of net zero in operation
- statutory compliance (#statutory-compliance)
It should also provide an estimated cost for repair or replacement of specific elements. It will often cover 5-year planning periods. You should think about how this relates to the need to review your estates strategy every 3 years. You should also consider commissioning condition surveys which cover a shorter period if needed.

Condition surveys could identify important elements that need further investigation. These could include issues with the structure of a building or with the safety of electrical installations. In these cases, you should carry out further checks and get specific technical advice from a qualified specialist.

Reporting on condition

A condition survey will usually assign a grade to each property. Within the college sector, condition is generally categorised as:
- A: as new, performing as intended and operating efficiently
- B: sound, performing as intended but exhibiting minor deterioration
- C: operational, exhibiting major defects or not operating as intended
- D: inoperable, life expired or serious risk of failure
These ratings are different from those used as part of the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme).

Prioritisation

Condition surveys also enable you to prioritise and plan works. They do this by categorising each property with a priority grade such as:
- 1 - urgent: immediate or one-year remedial action required. This is work that will prevent immediate closure of premises. It may also address an immediate high risk to the health and safety of the occupants. It could also remedy a serious breach of legislation.
- 2 - essential: remedial action required in 1 to 2 years. This is work that will prevent serious deterioration of the building fabric or services, address a medium risk to the health and safety of the occupants, or remedy a less serious breach of legislation.
- 3 - desirable: remedial action required in 3 to 5 years. This is work that will prevent deterioration of the building fabric or services, address a low risk to the health and safety of the occupants or remedy a minor breach of legislation.
- 4 - long term: outside of a 5-year planning period. This is work that will prevent deterioration of the building fabric or services.
This information will help you prepare a 3-year maintenance programme, which shows potential future capital investment. How frequently colleges need to undertake condition surveys will depend on the condition, age, and the type of buildings within the estate. However, you should regularly inspect all college buildings and a detailed condition survey should be undertaken at least once every 5 years.

Your condition survey should support the requirements of the FE and sixth-form college corporations: governance guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-corporations-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide--2/fe-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide#financial-and-estate-management) from DfE. This guidance sets out that you will need to produce a new estates strategy and a new maintenance plan every 3 years.

Functional suitability assessments

Functional suitability assessments measure the current needs of the college and how well your estate meets them.

Conditional surveys assess the state of repair of the estate. Functional suitability assessments look at how suitable each part of the estate is in relation to learners, staff, and other users.

You need to have a detailed understanding of the size and use of your entire estate to perform a functional suitability assessment. You would ideally perform the assessment on each room individually. For the sake of practicality though, you may need to group similar rooms together and assess them in total.

Setting the criteria

Each room or group of rooms should be assessed according to a range of relevant factors.

Location
- Are the rooms or spaces well positioned within the estate?
- Are they near other rooms or spaces with similar uses?
- Can they be easily accessed by users?
Layout and plan
- Is the layout suitable for the activities required in the space?
- Is the room the right size and space and well suited for the types of furniture, equipment, circulation, and access required?
- Is the room or space suitably located to ancillary and related room functions, including storage, technical preparation and catering provision?
Environment
- Is there natural ventilation and daylight, and are any controls easy to use?
- Are the temperature, light, humidity, fresh air, clean air (if required), and ventilation levels appropriate for its existing use?
- Are the acoustics appropriate for teaching and learning needs?
Servicing and equipment requirements
- Is the space suitably equipped in terms of electrical capacity, ventilation and data points, auditory support and wi-fi connectivity and capability?
- Does the space have the right furniture, fixtures, fittings and equipment for its uses?
- Are refuse and deliveries of materials accessible?
Flexibility
- Does the space provide flexibility for day-to-day requirements?
- Does the space lend itself to planned or future alteration, sub-division or expansion in response to changing courses and activities?
- Could the room be used for an alternative use?
User experience
- What do users think about the space’s visual appeal and quality of decoration?
- Do users find the space to be a high-quality environment for its current use(s) for learning, acoustics and comfort conditions?
- Are there suitable spaces for social learning?
- Is the layout of the space, and circulation routes into, around and out of the building, easy to understand upon arrival?
- Is the space accessible to all users, with clear circulation and access to toilets in easy reach?
- Does it feel safe and secure?
- Would a change of use require major capital works?
Case study: Bridgwater and Taunton College

During a major capital project to rebuild a college building after a fire, leaders at Bridgwater and Taunton College took the time to speak to building users, such as staff and students, both during the building process and after the new building came into use. This allowed them to gather feedback about how well the space was working and to plan any changes needed to the new space or to future projects.

A major capital project group met regularly during the rebuild, which was chaired by the Head of Estates. At the outset of the process, a formal cooperation agreement was drawn up between the estates team and end users, by which they agreed and documented protocols and responsibility for duty of care in each action.

A separate meeting was held with curriculum staff and students to explore what went well and what could be improved. Here they discussed lessons learned on the planning and occupation of the new build and what had been learnt since opening from a curriculum perspective.

Longer-term analysis of curriculum impacts, including quality improvement, student numbers and outcomes for impacted curriculum areas, and whether all of these have met expectation will be conducted at a suitable time and documented.

Read the full Bridgwater and Taunton College case study (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/case-study-bridgwater-and-taunton-college) to find out more about how the college turned this adverse event into an opportunity.

External
- Are the shared spaces between classrooms and buildings of a high quality?
- Are there good links between indoor and outdoor spaces?
- Are external spaces optimised for learning, socialising and dining functions, and is there access to space for physical activity?
- Is there shelter provided from the prevailing wind, rain and sun?
- Do external spaces feel well-designed with planting, suitably maintained, and secure?
- Is it easy for users and visitors to navigate the campus with access from public transport routes, bicycle storage and car parking?
- Are there suitable footpaths, signage and lighting?
Who should conduct the assessment?

There are different ways to approach the assessment. As you are assessing your estate for its usefulness to your organisation, this work is usually best undertaken ‘in house’. This is instead of a consultant who is not as familiar with your specific operational working needs.

The suitability assessment could first be undertaken by the estates team. In the case of smaller colleges, this could be the member of the management team responsible for property matters. Curriculum managers could then test the initial results.

An alternative approach might be to set up an internal working group. They could visit the space together and agree assessments as a group. You might also decide to involve student representatives.

Despite which option you choose, you should make sure that those involved in the assessment include:
- the estates team
- curriculum managers
- management information systems (MIS) teams
The whole leadership team, including student governors, should review the results.

Grading the space

When assessing the estate, colleges should score each space. Within FE, a score of A to D is usually used to measure the functional suitability of each space:

1. excellent: a highly functional space which is ideally suited to current needs.

2. good: a suitable environment which functions well in most respects. There are some minor issues which do not materially impact the use of the space.

3. fair: the space is acceptable for its current use but has some significant issues which affect its suitability.

4. poor: the space is not suitable for its current use. There are major problems with the functionality of the room and there is an urgent need for change in its use and function.

By using scored categories, you can assess each part of the estate independently. This is so you can better understand which spaces are well-suited to their use and which are not. You can also use your college’s room data to establish how much space within your estate is excellent, good, fair and poor.

These ratings differ from those used as part of the CDC programme (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme). Although the ratings set out above are clear and often used in practice, you should also be aware of the CDC ratings. This is so you can have a full picture of estate condition.

Strategic links

While the assessment of functional suitability is largely subjective, it can be a helpful exercise. You should:
- refer to it when developing your estates strategy
- use it when prioritising maintenance and capital works
- include aggregate or summary data from it in the estates strategy - you will need to present the data by building and by campus
- share it with governors
How often you complete the assessment will depend on the circumstances of your college. You should, however, consider the functional suitability of your estate every 3 years. This can be more often if your curriculum changes significantly between scheduled assessments.

In practical terms, an evaluation is probably best aligned with the production of your estates strategy, which should be reviewed every 3 years in accordance with FE and sixth-form college corporations guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-corporations-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide--2/fe-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide#financial-and-estate-management) from DfE. Ideally the functional suitability review needs to be completed shortly before any estates strategy revision. This is so that recent functional suitability information informs the strategy update.

Statutory compliance

Colleges have a duty of care to keep staff, students and visitors to their premises safe from harm. This means that you need to be able to show that you have a regime that is focused on regular testing, inspection and maintenance of equipment.

The duty of care extends to the people managing and maintaining the estate. You need to demonstrate that:
- people have been set to work in a safe manner
- checks have been made that the people who undertake maintenance on the property are competent to do so
This duty is enshrined in legislation. Where incidents occur, you will need to show that you have complied with the relevant legislation and that you have done everything reasonably practicable to prevent them. You will need to show that you have met these obligations by maintaining statutory compliance.

As with all legislation, there will be changes over time which you will need to reflect in working practices and maintenance obligations. This can be achieved by setting up a legal register and a process for periodic review (for example, every 6 months or annually). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website (https://www.hse.gov.uk/) is a good source of information to assist with keeping the legal register up to date.

Legislation

Below is an outline for a college’s legal register and a brief narrative of the areas covered by the legislation. You should also consider seeking professional advice, as this is not exhaustive and may not cover specialist equipment and practices.

You need to be familiar with the obligations placed upon you by legislation. This information is to help you make sure that you have thought about and managed risk in all these areas in your planning.

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

The Health and Safety and Work Act (https://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm) is primary legislation that places a duty on employers and employees to work together to achieve health and safety – it is an enabling act for all British legislation relating to health and safety.

Approved documents (building regulations)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes approved documents (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/case-study-bridgwater-and-taunton-college), which detail the ways to meet building regulations.

These contain:
- general guidance on the performance expected of materials and building work in order to comply with the building regulations
- practical examples and solutions on how to achieve compliance for some of the more common building situations
- requires a set process and sign-off by Building Control to evidence compliance – all certificates should be retained and ‘belong’ to the building
Construction (Design & Management) Regulations (CDM) 2015

The CDM Regulations 2015 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents/made) apply to the broadest possible range of work from minor internal tasks to the largest building project and include general engineering work, refurbishment and maintenance.

The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997

If employees or others need to enter a confined space, The Confined Spaces Regulations (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1713/contents/made) state that the appropriate risk assessments and arrangements for rescue in an emergency are mandatory.

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

Buildings constructed before 2000 are likely to have asbestos. The Control of Asbestos Regulations (https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l143.htm) state that where present, a duty holder must be appointed to ensure risk assessments, surveys and remedial actions are taken by competent persons.

In the case of a college, the duty holder is likely to be the board of governors. Managing asbestos in your school or college (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/asbestos-management-in-schools) contains full guidance.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002

COSHH (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/) sets out that employers have a responsibility to assess all work situations and establish whether employees may be exposed to hazardous substance, be it a solid, liquid, vapour, dust, gas or biological agent.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

The Electricity at Work Regulations (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/635/contents/made) require that electrical systems should be constructed and maintained to prevent danger or injury, as far as is reasonably practicable.

Emissions into the atmosphere

Various acts and mandatory items of legislation cover air quality and assessment including:
- Clean Air Act 1993 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/11/contents)
- Pollution, Prevention and Control Act 1999 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/24/contents)
- The Environmental Protection Regulations 1994 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/1271/made)
Environmental Protection Act 1990

The need to protect the environment is a duty of management. The Environmental Protection Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents) states that colleges should have an environment policy that seeks to protect the environment from indiscriminate disposal or leakage of waste (be that solid, liquid, vapour, gas or dust).

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents) legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.

Fluorinated gas guidance

This Fluorinated gas guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fluorinated-gas-f-gas-guidance-for-users-producers-and-traders) covers specific gases that are known to be harmful to the atmosphere and accelerate global warming. Typically, refrigerant gases from heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are covered and a register of systems, weights, gas types and servicing need to be maintained.

For examples of the kind of these systems your college might have, see the list of equipment for compliance testing (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/tools-and-templates#equipment-list).

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

All fire safety (https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities) legislation was replaced by this single order (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made) to make compliance easier and provide a single fire safety regime applying to all workplaces and other non-domestic premises. Colleges should be aware of new regulations made under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-overview#:~:text=The%20Fire%20Safety%20(England)%20Regulations,to%20residents%20for%20specific%20premises) relating to high-rise buildings.

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

These display screen health and safety regulations (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/2792/contents/made) require employers to assess the risk to their employees with regards to work comfort and welfare associated with the regular use of display screen equipment.

Lift regulations

This is covered by 2 pieces of legislation:
- The Lifts Regulations 2016 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1093/contents)
- The Lifts (amendments) Regulation 2016 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1186/contents)
Appropriate and regular maintenance should be carried out, as well as the thorough statutory examinations often conducted by insurance engineers, on all lifts and lifting equipment within the college.

Lightning protection systems

Every building with an installed system should have documentation (as built drawings) and regular checks and inspections undertaken, often annually.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/contents/made) extend the obligations under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Absolute compliance is required where hazards at work are identified and require management. If the risk of injury remains high, the regulations instruct the use of permit-to-work systems as an additional control and risk management mechanism.

Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) 2000

The PSSR (https://www.hse.gov.uk/pressure-systems/pssr.htm) explain that pressure systems and equipment that contain a ‘relevant fluid’ or gas under pressure of more than 0.5 bar above normal atmospheric pressure are covered under this legislation for maintenance, testing and inspection. For examples of this kind of equipment that your college may have, refer to the list of equipment for compliance testing (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/further-education-estates-planning/tools-and-templates).

Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) 2013

Colleges must understand the RIDDOR (https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/) process and have in place a procedure to manage and prevent reportable incidents.

Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017

Under the Ionising Radiations Regulations (https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/legalbase.htm) and the Health and Safety at Work Act etc (1974) you must be aware of the hazards posed by the odourless, colourless radon gas.

Processes

Key tools for you to understand the scope of obligations statutory compliance places on your management team include:
- asset capture
- asset registers (#asset-register)
- data management
You should have or create a health and safety file and store it securely on site. This file should be updated with:
- inspection visits
- maintenance records
- certificates generated through compliance activities
Adopting a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) regime allows a college to translate their asset register into a PPM planner of activities for maintaining statutory compliance throughout the year. Commercial software products are available to manage this planning efficiently, which might be important if you do not have good internal systems set up.

If you are procuring facilities management services, you should already have a good idea of the services and tasks necessary to maintain statutory compliance as this knowledge will be important in contracting such services.

What governors need to know

DfE has published a governance guide for colleges (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-corporations-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide--2/fe-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide) which brings together advice on your responsibilities and best practice for governance teams. It contains a section on finance and estates management which underpins the advice in this guide.

As a board of governors, you should have clear governance processes to enable effective oversight of the college estate. The processes should describe:
- the respective roles and accountabilities between the board and senior leaders for estates matters
- how and where strategic decisions about the estate should be taken, in particular: major acquisitions, disposals, capital projects and funding arrangements
- arrangements to make sure that statutory and other essential estates functions and duties are carried out (such as safety and security) and that reporting systems and management capacity are sufficient
Boards should ideally have at least one governor with a professional background or experience in estates. This will provide skilled oversight and the ability to ask the right questions, which will ensure the most effective scrutiny of estates management – although such expert governors need to take care to provide high level, strategic enquiry and resist the temptation to stray into operational management.

Depending on the skills and capacity of your senior and middle managers, there will be occasions when governors recognise the benefit of procuring external professional advice. Usually this will be to respond to major or more complicated estates issues and projects.

Tenure and land ownership

For many colleges, your property interests represent the most significant assets on your balance sheet. In some cases, these come with significant restrictions (such as educational covenants) or conditions (such as security held by lenders of historic financing). Leased properties can involve significant legal and financial commitments and are usually time limited.

As governors you should:
- have a broad understanding of the college’s land and property ownership, rights, interests and obligations, including which property assets are owned, held as security, or held under lease (including the term and annual costs of the lease)
- be aware of the development potential of specific property assets and associated opportunities and constraints arising from local planning processes
Condition

Understanding the condition of the estate will help you make informed decisions about the estate and will inform the maintenance plan and estate budget.

As governors, you should understand:
- how often condition surveys are undertaken and who is responsible for analysis and reporting of these
- the overall condition of the estate, as shown by a summary of the latest condition survey, and any priority areas for action
- the implications for college operations of any buildings in poor condition
- the cost, plans and priority of any works needed to address poor condition properties
Suitability and sufficiency

Understanding the estate’s suitability and sufficiency will help you make strategic decisions.

As governors, you should understand how the estate meets your current needs and future educational requirements. This includes:
- how efficiently the college utilises space based on reliable, regularly updated data to identify pressure on capacity and scope to make better use of space or remove over-capacity
- the extent to which the estate meets the needs of the curriculum through periodic assessments of functional suitability
- being aware of your college’s climate change strategy and receiving reports on energy use and carbon dioxide emissions
Compliance with legal responsibilities

As governors, you should know how the college is complying with all necessary legal requirements relating to the estate, including:
- health and safety laws and other relevant laws and regulations
- planned and preventative maintenance
- statutory inspecting and testing (including asbestos and fire)
- accidents, incidents and emergency response
- insurance cover
Finance and value for money

Property assets typically account for the majority of capital investment in colleges and a significant part of day-to-day running costs.

As governors you will need to:
- keep up to date with opportunities to secure capital grant funding and be alert to opportunities to reinvest the net sale proceeds arising from the release of surplus capacity and property holdings into future capital plans. ‘Net sale proceeds’ for these purposes are sale proceeds after any finance secured on the property has been discharged. Receipts from the sale of capital assets are restricted cash that should be ringfenced for future capital investment, or reducing debt, as set out in part 5 of the college financial handbook (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/college-financial-handbook/part-5-delegated-authorities)
- know you are spending wisely on the estate, securing value for money and complying with procurement rules and regulations