UNCLASSIFIED
e-PIMS
Published Data
FAQs
Version 1
April 2013
This document covers a range of Frequently Asked Questions and includes a data dictionary following question 21 below. This willexplain what data is included and details the structure and linkage of the released files.
Q1: What is included in the data?
A1: The scope of the data extracts include land and property information for those government departments, together with any arms’ length bodies for which they are responsible, including their non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), which fall under the responsibility of English Ministers. These assets are primarily located in England, but are also located in the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as overseas.
In addition, land and property information is also included for those assets under the responsibility of Welsh Ministers.
Q2: What is not included?
A2: Generally, the scope of the data extracts exclude land and property information for local authorities, the NHS (except for Special Health Authorities), public corporations, privatised railway undertakings, the Crown Estate or the Defence Estate (subject to some exceptions). In addition, no land and property information is also included for those assets under the responsibility of Scottish Ministers or Northern Ireland Ministers.
Since the launch of the Find Me Some Government Space (FMSGS) in January 2013 (see Q4 below), we no longer publish extracts of vacant space and surplus land on DATA.GOV. This information is now available in ‘real time’ through the FMSGS application where it is updated daily. The information can be downloaded in CSV format from the FMSGS application.
Q3: Who decides what is included?
A3: e-PIMS was made mandatory for government departments, together with any arms’ length bodies for which they are responsible, including their non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), which fall under the responsibility of English Ministers in August 2005. This was done via a ‘Dear Accounting Officer’ letter (DAO 08/05). The letter was superseded by the inclusion of that mandation in Annex 4.8 of Managing Public Money, which is available on the HM Treasury website -
Q4: Will more information be included in the future?
A4: In January 2013, a new public-facing portal was launched which provides information about the vacant space and surplus land available on the UK government estate -
As the information available through the portal is ‘real time’, we no longer publish extracts of vacant space and surplus land on DATA.GOV. This information is now available in ‘real time’ through the FMSGS application where it is updated daily. The information can be downloaded in CSV format from the FMSGS application.
Q5: How does the Data Protection Act apply to or impact on information held on e-PIMS?
A5: Any information held on e-PIMS that is considered to be personal information is treated as such under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Q6: How does the Freedom of Information Act apply to or impact on information held on e-PIMS?
A6: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives you the right to ask any public body for all the information they have on any subject you choose. It is therefore applies to ePIMS. More information about the FoIA is available on the GOV.UK website -
Q7: I know about a property that is owned by government, so why is it not on the list?
A7: It may be that it is outside the scope of the mandation that covers ePIMS or has not been includedon sensitivity grounds.We would be happy to answer individual questions on a case-by-case basis.
Q8: Why is the data not available on a map?
A8: The recently launched public-facing portal (see Q4) includes the facility to search by postcode or town and the results can be displayed on a map. In addition, all extracts now include the latitude and longitude for each property record to assist in locating it.
Q9: I have heard about government initiatives called the ‘Public Request to Order Disposal’ and ‘the Community Right to Reclaim Land. What are they?
A9: Community Right to Reclaim Land helps local people ensure that public sector bodies do not unnecessarily sit on underused land or property and gets these brownfield sites back into use. The Right comprises two elements:
- Improved transparency by giving citizens on-line access to information; and
- Improved accountability by reforming the Public Request to Order Disposal (PROD) process. This enables any citizen or organisation to ask the Secretary of State to direct that a specified parcel of underused public land or property should be sold in the open market.
More information about the Right is available on line, including information about how to submit a PROD request and contacts for further information.
Q10: I have heard the term ‘Asset of Community Value’ used recently. What is it?
A10: ‘Asset of Community Value’ is a term used in The Localism Act. The Act received Royal Assent in November 2011 and contains significant new rights for communities and individuals, making it easier for them to get things done and achieve their ambitions for the place where they live.
In many places across the country, when local amenities have been threatened with sale or closure, community groups have taken them over. In some cases, however, community groups who have attempted to take assets over have faced significant challenges. They often need more time to organise a bid and raise money than the private enterprises bidding against them.
The Act requires local authorities to maintain a list of “assets of community value”. Communities will have the opportunity to nominate for possible inclusion the assets that are most important to them. When listed assets come up for sale, community groups will have time to develop a bid and raise the money to buy the asset when it comes on the open market. This will help local communities keep such sites in public use and part of local life.
More information is available from Big Society Delivery Division, Department for Communities and Local Government, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DU.
Q11: What is the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land?
A11: It provides information on the availability of surplus land for those government departments and their sponsored bodies which fall under the responsibility of English Ministers. The Register is also used on a voluntary basis by NHS trusts and Welsh Government.
The Register helps to ensure that wider Government objectives, including housing needs are factored into land disposal decisions.
Through the Register, the disposing body provides details of the site and there is a window of 40 working days during which certain public sector bodies can identify new uses for the land.
The data extract that is now available through the FMSGS application (see Q4) includes all sites that are outside the 40 working day ‘window’. Such sites may be included in thedisposal strategies that have been published by a number of individual government departments (see Q13). In addition, these sites may now be ‘on the market’ and being actively marketed.
Q12: Are all sites on the Register on brownfield land?
A12: Most of the sites are on formerly used land, and more detail is available on request about specific sites. The reuse of brownfield sites is something that is encouraged, but it is local councils and communities that are best placed to decide which land is most suitable to meet their needs.
Q13: How do I find out about land being disposed of by government?
A13: A number of individual government departments and their sponsored bodies have published disposal strategies for sites that have the potential to be developed for housing. These are available on their websites. We are aware of strategies being published by the Ministry of Defence, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department for Transport (DfT), Department of Health (DoH) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
All of the sites included in the published disposal strategies are recorded on e-PIMS and most of these sites are also recorded on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land.
Q14: What date was the information extracted?
A14: The three extracts (Property, Building and Occupation) were taken on 23rd April 2013.
Q15: Why is there only cost data for some buildings?
A15: Cost data is generally only available for office buildings over 500 m2 that form part of the Government Property Unit’s annual benchmarking programme. The data included in this extract is from the 2010-11 programme.
Q16: Why is the benchmarked data for a number of building records significantly worse than the average for the relevant KPI?
A16: There could be a number of reasons but as Government is rationalising the estate and reducing the number of staff and buildings, this is therefore reflected in any metric that applies a KPI based on staff numbers.
Q17: Why are there so few EPC records recorded?
A17: EPCs are only required for buildings acquired after 2008 and/or they may be out-of-scope. If the information is available, then it should be recorded on ePIMS.
Q18: Who do I contact if I have any questions?
A18: In the first instance, you should contact the ePIMS Service Desk. You can do this by emailing the e-PIMS Service Delivery Team via or contacting us via 0113 203 3818.
If we cannot answer your question, then we will either contact the relevant department in question for you or put you in contact with the relevant individual in that department.
Q19: How often will the data be refreshed on DATA.GOV?
A19: It will be refreshed on a quarterly basis unless there is a specific reason for it to be updated between the planned updates. The next update is scheduled forSummer2013.
Q20: What information is included?
A20: There are now three data extracts available on DATA.GOV. Respectively, these provide information on the properties, buildings and occupations.
It should be noted that there were previously five extracts with extracts ofvacant space with and surplus properties on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land. Whilst this information is now available in ‘real time’ through the FMSGS application (see Q4), we have still included details of what is on those extracts below as the previous quarterly extracts are available on DATA.GOV.
The ‘Property’ extract provides information about the location, size, tenure and type of property. Certain properties may have more than one entry in the data extract as government has more than one ‘interest’ in that property. For example, there may be two leases in the same property. It also provides information about the ‘owning’ government department and the ‘property centre’, i.e. that part of the government department responsible for that property. In addition, it has a property reference (the ‘ePIMS Property Ref’) that allows it to be linked to the other data extracts.
The ‘Building’ extract provides key information about the physical characteristics, energy performance and occupation costs of each building. Cost information is only provided for certain types and size of building. Certain buildings may have more than one entry in the data extract as government has more than one ‘interest’ in that property. Again, the extract provides information about the ‘owning’ government department and the ‘property centre’, i.e. that part of the government department responsible for that property. In addition, it has a property reference (the ‘ePIMS Property Ref’) that allows it to be linked to the other data extracts.
The ‘Occupation’ extract provides key information about the tenant of each property, the amount of space that they occupy and the nature of that occupation. As certain properties may have more than one tenant, there may be more than one entry in the data extract as government has more than one ‘interest’ in that property. It should be noted that the list of tenants only includes government tenants. It does not include either commercial tenants or tenants from other parts of the public sector. Again, the extract provides information about the ‘owning’ government department and the ‘property centre’, i.e. that part of the government department responsible for that property. In addition, it has a property reference (the ‘ePIMS Property Ref’) that allows it to be linked to the other data extracts.
The ‘Vacant Space’ extract provides details of any vacant space that is available in buildings occupied by government departments. Certain buildings may have more than one entry in the data extract as government has more than one ‘interest’ in that property. Again, the extract provides information about the ‘owning’ government department and the ‘property centre’, i.e. that part of the government department responsible for that property. In addition, it has a property reference (the ‘ePIMS Property Ref’) that allows it to be linked to the other data extracts. ‘Real time’ information about vacant space is available through the recently launched public-facing portal -
The ‘Surplus Register’ extract provides details of any sites that are being disposed of through the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land and are outside the 40 working day ‘window’ (see Q11). Certain properties may have more than one entry in the data extract as government has more than one ‘interest’ in that property. Again, the extract provides information about the ‘owning’ government department and the ‘property centre’, i.e. that part of the government department responsible for that property. In addition, it has a property reference (the ‘ePIMS Property Ref’) that allows it to be linked to the other data extracts. ‘Real time’ information about surplus land that is for sale is available through the recently launched public-facing portal -
Q21: Is there a data dictionary?
A21: Yes, see below.
Q22: Can I reuse the data for any purpose?
A22: Most of the data can be reused for any purpose. However, the latitude and longitude data is supplied subject to the conditions of the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA) licence. A copy of the licence is available through the following link – Licence. Such data is supplied for non-commercial, personal use. Anyone who wishes to use the location data for other purposes should contact us in the first instance via .
e-PIMS Taxonomy:
The taxonomy of e-PIMS is based on the following structure:
1. Sector - This is the highest definition and relates to Government's main sectors e.g. Central Civil Estate, NHS Bodies, Local Government, Education, Northern Irelandetc.
2. Parent Department - This level is not directly recorded in e-PIMS but can be derived from a linkage across Departments established in the Departmental summary table. A Parental Department has associations to other Departments, e.g. DWP and H&SE are both Departments within their own right on e-PIMS but DWP is the Parent Department for H&SE.
3. Department - Underneath each Sector is the Department (see Parent Department above).
4. Property Centre - This level is determined by the Department. It can be used to break down an estate into Executive Agencies, NDPB's or can be based on a geographical split.
In addition, the type of Property Centre is also held along with a unique reference to the Treasury "COINS" system, e.g. NDPB, Executive Agency.
e-PIMS Data Fields:
e-PIMS data fields are either mandatory, auto-calculated (based on other data entered by the user) or optional. This means that certain columns of data will be part complete where that data field is optional.
To assist interpretation of the data, we have colour-coded the fields below, as follows:
Yellow – Mandatory field;
Blue – Auto-calculated field; and
White – Optional field.
Each record is automatically allocated an e-PIMS property reference number. These provide a common look-up across the various data extracts. These are highlighted in red bold text below.
Property File:e-PIMS Data Field / Description
Sector Name / This is the highest definition and relates to Government's main sectors, i.e.Central Civil Estate, NHS Bodies, Local Government, Education, Northern Ireland, Crown Estate, Wales, Scottish Government or Other.
Department / This is the name of the Government Department e.g. Department of Business, Innovations & Skills.
Property Centre / The Property Centre is defined by the each Department and is used to group Departmental property records into manageable groups.
Region / This field will be automatically set by the system when the property record is created.
e-PIMS Property Ref / This is the automatically generated number assigned to each property record.
e-PIMS Holding Ref / This is the automatically generated number assigned to each holding record. As each property record may have more than one holding, we have included both the e-PIMS Property Reference and the e-PIMS Holding Reference to assist in identification.
Department Property Ref / This field is intended to hold a unique departmental reference for the property (if one exists) in the same way as the e-PIMS Property Ref field. If the department does not have a unique reference for the property the e-PIMS property reference can be used.
Property Name / The name of the Property/Site as provided by the Department.
Holding Name / This is the Holding name as provided by the Department, and can be a description of the holding e.g. Floors 3 – 6, Whole Building etc.
Road / The property postal road address.
Town / The property postal town.
Postcode / The property post code.
Latitude / This is based on the OS Grid Reference automatically populated by the system when the property record is created.
Longitude / This is based on the OS Grid Reference automatically populated by the system when the property record is created.