2022 will be a pivotal year for the workplace. For the Government Property Agency (GPA), our work continues in supporting the delivery of Government priorities including supporting levelling up, sustainability and Civil Service Reform through property technology and hybrid working – issues which have important parallels for the industry at large.

IN THE WORKPLACE

Despite a lot of the change in working habits starting pre-pandemic, Dominic Brankin, our Workplace Services Director, and Kate Guthrie, our Deputy Director Workplace Experience believe that this evolution will continue for some time. They see 2022 as the year in which businesses show real commitment to learning and curiosity about their people’s workplace experience. It’s expected that companies will make good progress in getting the right workplace design to support the combination of people’s different working practices. People have had experience of working at home for a long period of time now, and there will be some who want to continue this practice, but also a lot of people who will relish a choice of working environments to suit different tasks. The organisations that will be most successful will be the ones where great workplaces meet great leadership – where honest conversations about the workplace are proactively facilitated and feed into choices made by teams to enable them to work as effectively as possible.

A lot has been said about ‘collaboration zones’ and ‘social spaces’ when reconfiguring the office. But we believe that businesses enhancing or introducing these types of space in 2022 and beyond shouldn’t forget the quiet, individual spaces that support focussed work. Our research with Leesman surveying 26,000 civil servants told us that ‘individual work’ was still the priority for many and this should be factored into office design too.

We also believe that 2022 will see organisations focus on understanding and supporting team effectiveness, measuring the aspects of the work experience that indicate employees are getting what they need to be able to do their best at their job. This will inevitably include the workplace experience. Do people have the workplaces they want and the experiences they need? Are they supported effectively to do their job, and work collaboratively with their team?

POST-COVID ‘ATTENDEE-ISM’

In respect of demand for space, Alan Whitelaw, our Property Director, believes that across businesses there will be a general shift in focus from the pre-Covid ‘presenteeism’ way of thinking about the workplace to a post-Covid ‘attendee-ism’ – where people are not judged on the amount of time they spend in the office, rather how they use that time – for example, for team working, in-person presentations and training, creative work and projects. He is seeing a shift in the perception of organisations towards empowerment and trust that people will use the office for a purpose, rather than requiring mandated attendance. Alan points out that different businesses and functions need to use the office differently – during lockdown we still had some departments that needed to be in the office and were there throughout. Similarly, there are some functions that were thought to need to be in the office that have proved that they can work efficiently on a more flexible basis.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS KEY

On the technology side, our Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Neil Williams, believes there will be a focus on interoperability in 2022 – customer experience is key. This means making the use of the office and digital tools as easy as possible for our customers – the civil servants who use our space – and creating a streamlined experience. In particular, audio visual technology will become much more widespread in collaborative and creative spaces as well as in meeting rooms. Again, simplicity is key with plug-and-play equipment enabling hybrid meetings between staff in several different locations.

On the data front, Neil believes that it will take some time to gather and gain insight from data on how people are working together and interacting with space. But bringing available data together in one place to create a complete overview will add the most value: which spaces are used and when – collaborative vs individual for example; whether people are booking spaces before they travel; what issues are reported and how quickly they are dealt with; water and electricity usage and at what times of the day.

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH ESG

And last but definitely not least, sustainability will be on everybody’s minds in 2022 as they really get to grips with Environmental Social Governance (ESG) – some might say finally! Dr Miguel Godfrey, our Head of Sustainability, and Louisa Le Roux, our Net Carbon Zero Programme Manager, predict that property companies will start to prioritise not only reaching targets but searching for ways to exceed them. For example, BREEAM Excellent is the ambition for many developers. However, the reality is that there is much more that can be accomplished. Achieving the required 78% carbon reduction by 2035 will not be easy, and to achieve this we will need both concerted effort and work to deliver the quick wins early.

We will see businesses shift their focus to a wider array of green initiatives with sub-metering set to be a real trend. This will allow businesses to understand their energy usage so that they can pick the right measures to reduce it. These measures will most likely include switching to green tariffs, landlords installing more EV charging units, revisiting their heating and cooling units, and undertaking a ‘greening’ of their procurement and supply chain process. These are all areas the GPA is taking forward at pace.

For the bigger developments and refurbishment, we expect to see wider use of Modern Methods of Construction and the use of digital twins to help with the drive towards sustainability – something we are developing across our own projects. On the retrofitting side, we think 2022 will be the year where heritage buildings are tackled more widely. It’s been proven that retrofitting can be done to improve sustainability and so more will follow suit. As technology develops at pace, we will start to see more usage of solar panel solutions which will blend in better with the façade and fabric of older buildings.

We are currently working on potential PV panel installation on some of our Central London buildings with a test site going through listed building consent. We are also putting a plan in place for decarbonising our Whitehall District Heat System which will go a long way to reducing carbon emissions on our Central London heritage estate.

Finally, we hope (and want) 2022 to be the year where the industry gets to grips with the measurement of embodied carbon and a reduction in construction waste which will help supercharge our collaborative race to Net Zero.

• UK Export Finance guarantee a EUR2.1 billion loan to fund construction of 503km high speed electric railway
• Huge nine-figure contracts set to be awarded to UK rail suppliers as a condition of UK support
• Deal announced at UK-Türkiye Green Finance Conference designed to help Turkey finance major climate-friendly projects and meet its COP26 commitments

UK government’s biggest ever sustainable, civil infrastructure deal will help finance a new high speed electric railway line in Turkey to decarbonise travel, with major contracts awarded to British and Turkish businesses.

The EUR2.1 billion green financing will be guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF), through its Buyer Credit Scheme, with Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered structuring and coordinating banks arranging the transaction.

This is the first UK-supported rail transaction in Turkey for over 160 years, and forms part of Turkey’s plan to transform high speed rail in the country.

The new 503km electric-powered railway line will connect Ankara, Tukey’s capital, to the huge port-side city of Izmir. When complete, the new line will provide a faster, lower carbon alternative to current air and road routes between the two cities, helping to fulfil Turkey’s climate change commitments made at COP26.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

Turkey is a vital trading partner for the UK. Our shared global outlook on free trade and the environment is the driving force behind economic growth in our two nations.

It is fitting that UK Export Finance’s biggest ever civil infrastructure deal is strongly sustainable. This is a proud moment for the UK railway industry, using its industrial roots to reduce emissions in heavily polluted cities.

Treasury and Finance Minister for Türkiye Dr. Nureddin Nebati, said:

Referring to the Bilateral Cooperation Agreement signed between the UK and Türkiye in 1999; we have successfully achieved the closing of the landmark financing of Ankara İzmir High Speed Railway Project under the green loan structure.

We have given utmost importance to the environmental and social procedures during this project and as the Ministry of Treasury and Finance we are closely following the improvements of such issues. We also desire to be among the active and important players of the rapidly growing green finance market.

We are very glad for the cooperation and strong longstanding relations with UK government and we hope to further strengthen our collaboration.

Turkey is one of the UK’s most important independent trading partners. The bilateral trading relationship was worth £17.5 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021, increasing by £1.4 billion from the same period in 2020.

The deal will secure major contracts for UK companies of all sizes to supply to the project, with several nine-figure deals for UK companies close to being agreed. Engineering and construction giants ERG International Group is using its close ties with the UK supply chain to support the project. UK companies are expected to supply British-made railway lines, turnouts, point machines, fasteners, material and equipment for signaling, telecommunication and electrification systems, as well as vital insurance and freight services.

The financing was led by Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Bank with support from UK Export Finance and meets internationally recognised sustainability standards and is aligned with the Green Loan Principles. Reinsurance is also being provided by international export credit agencies such as SACE in Italy, SERV in Switzerland and OeKB in Austria, reducing the risk to the UK taxpayer.

Yoshi Ichikawa, Head of Structured Export Finance for Europe, Standard Chartered Bank said:

We’re proud to further strengthen our relationship with the Turkish government, providing a loan structured with a clear focus on international social and environmental standards, and working closely with Credit Suisse and UKEF. This support is another in the line of Standard Chartered’s financing in Türkiye to help the government deliver its railway infrastructure plan.

Murat Dedeoglu, ERG International UK, Group CEO said:

ERG is honored with the achievement and its historic milestone. ERG look forward strengthening ties with UKEF and the Turkish Government in the construction sector and adding value to the economies by making advance engineering and technological solutions available. Like in all our previous projects over the last 50 years, ERG is committed to create sustainable economic added value.

ERG’s Turkish and UK based Environmental & Social teams will bring many years of international experience to this important project, in order to ensure that IFC, Equator Principles, and national standards are at all times met. We would like to thank all our partners and stakeholders in the UK, Europe and Turkey to make this dream project come true, which will positively change and enhance the lives of millions of travellers and people living along the alignment.

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The government has announced that a £23.5 million penalty notice has been issued to LSER following a serious breach of the company’s franchise agreement.

In September 2021, the Transport Secretary announced that, following the breach of trust, the franchise would not be renewed with LSER and would be run by the Operator of Last Resort (OLR).

That announcement came after work conducted by DfT identified evidence showing that, between October 2014 and March 2020, LSER had deliberately concealed over £25 million of historic taxpayer funding relating to HS1, which should have been returned to the taxpayer.

The review also identified evidence of similar behaviour by LSER during its previous franchise agreement that ran from April 2006 to October 2014.

Today’s confirmation of the penalty reflects the seriousness of the misconduct over a substantial period and the action taken sends a clear signal to all rail operators that breaches of public trust will not be tolerated.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

I took decisive action and did not renew the contract with Southeastern following this appalling breach of trust.

Our rapid and firm action protected taxpayers and passengers – ensuring much-needed services continued to run.

LSER’s behaviour was simply unacceptable and this penalty sends a clear message that the government, and taxpayers, will not stand for it.

In total (including amounts already recovered), DfT is recovering £64 million from LSER in relation to the franchise agreement contraventions outlined in the penalty notice, other balances identified, adjustments to profit share payments and interest owed. The penalty notice issued today (17 March 2021) comes on top of this recovery.

OLR maintains the continuity of passenger rail services if a passenger rail franchise terminates and is not immediately replaced. Since OLR took over Southeastern, services have continued as normal and further passenger benefits, including the rollout of Citybeam trains, has continued at pace.

A new medicine, Evusheld (tixagevimab/cilgavimab), has today been authorised for COVID-19 prevention by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after meeting the UK regulatory standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

The decision to grant approval for this treatment was endorsed by the government’s independent expert scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines, after carefully reviewing the evidence.

Developed by AstraZeneca, Evusheld is a combination of two long-acting antibodies that works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19. This in turn prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells.

Evusheld is authorised to be used before being exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection in order to prevent disease (known as ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’).

For most people, the best way to prevent infection is vaccination. Evusheld has been approved for use in adults who are unlikely to mount an immune response from COVID-19 vaccination or for whom vaccination is not recommended.

Recipients should not be currently infected with or had recent known exposure to a person infected with the COVID-19 virus.

A single dose of the two medicines, tixagevimab and cilgavimab, should be given as two injections into a muscle by a healthcare professional.

In a clinical trial in adults, Evusheld was found to reduce the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77%, with protection from the virus continuing for at least 6 months following a single dose.

There is not yet enough data to know how effective Evusheld is against Omicron or the duration of its effect against this variant, and the MHRA will work with the company to establish this.

Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said:

“After a careful review of the data, I am pleased to confirm that we have authorised another medicine to help protect against the effects of COVID-19.

“Evusheld is a “pre-exposure prophylaxis” treatment, meaning it is taken to prevent COVID-19 before the risk of acquiring infection. One dose has been found to provide long-lasting protection against this disease for up to 6 months.

“While the COVID-19 vaccines continue to be the first-line defence against COVID-19, we know that some people may not respond adequately to these vaccines and for a small number of individuals COVID-19 vaccines may not be recommended for other reasons, such as a previous allergic reaction to one of the vaccine ingredients.

“For these people, Evusheld could provide effective protection against COVID-19.”

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, said:

“The Commission on Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Therapeutics Expert Working Group has independently reviewed the data and endorses the MHRA’s regulatory approval of Evusheld.

“We have carefully reviewed data on the medicine’s safety, quality and effectiveness and are satisfied it meets the expected standards.

“The recommended dosage is 300 mg of Evusheld but a higher dose of 600 mg may be more appropriate for some COVID-19 variants. All this is outlined in the Summary of Product Characteristics.

“Pre-exposure prophylaxis with Evusheld is not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination is recommended.”

Notes to Editors

1. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK, by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.
2. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
3. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) advises ministers and the MHRA on the safety, efficacy and quality of medicinal products. The CHM is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.