The shift toward home working which has come about out of necessity during the Covid-19 lockdown period has sparked major consultation between firms and employees over their respective needs and how working practices in the UK may alter in future. Any long-term shift toward remote working, however, is likely to have a significant impact on the commercial real estate side of the property sector.
In conversation with the Leaders Council, Alan Williamson, owner of Cheshire based property management firm Regalty Estates, airs his concerns for the future of the sector, while children’s commissioner Anne Longfield has stressed that schools must be the “first to reopen” and “last to close” as the government seeks to find a balance in fully reopening all sectors of the economy and keeping the transmission of Covid-19 down.
Leadership in Focus
Alan Williamson’s Regalty Estates is a property management company covering both commercial and residential properties throughout the north of England and Staffordshire. Sitting down with Leaders Council interviewer, Matthew O’Neill, Williamson said that the pandemic was bringing forth a whole host of new challenges for the property sector to face.
Williamson said: “It has been a difficult time. The pandemic has presented us with new challenges to adjust to, but as a business I think we have managed to cope quite well.”
When quizzed over his thoughts on how Covid-19 may affect the property sector in future, Williamson added: “For the property management sector, it will have an effect on the expectations of leaseholders and homeowners. Over the lockdown, all of these people have been at home so they expect property management companies to deliver even more than usual and expectation increases, but those expectations are dashed because we are being hit by challenges of our own.
“Cashflow being affected is one challenge, rising unemployment and possible future tax increases will potentially become an issue, as will debt recovery and court proceedings. I can foresee a significant knock-on effect for the sector.”
Switching focus to how the commercial real estate side of the sector may be impacted, Williamson hinted that he expected this part of the industry to be among the most adversely affected.
“Having spoken to numerous businesses in Cheshire where we are, I am understanding that the demand for close proximity office space is going to reduce. This is firstly going to affect landlords by forcing them to rethink how they respond to the needs of their tenants.
“I can see a marked shift in how people work. Already there is wide consultation between firms and their employees on longer-term home working and for many employees it works for them. There has been a reevaluation of business and employee needs and if remote working is here to stay, then there will be a significant impact on the need for commercial office space and, therefore, the commercial real estate sector in tandem.”
Leadership Today
With the possibility of future lockdowns during the winter months being touted, England’s children’s commissioner Anne Longfield has stressed that schools should be the “last” places to close, with non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants being shut beforehand in the event of another shutdown locally or nationally.
Longfield added that children and their education must not be an “afterthought” and highlighted that children are less likely than adults to spread Covid-19 and become ill themselves.
In a published briefing paper, Longfield said that children should be kept at “the heart of planning for the future”.
Despite acknowledging the need to reduce the transmission of the virus in communities, she urged the government not to “automatically assume” that schools must be closed, adding that is should only be done as a “last resort”.
Longfield’s paper says that regular testing of pupils and teachers should be introduced to allow for confirmed cases and close contacts to go into self-isolation “without having to send entire classes or year groups home”.
She adds that such a system will be vital during the winter flu season when the flu virus could be mistaken for Covid-19 and prompt “unnecessary closure or interruption.”
Longfield called for the Department for Education to expand its laptop programme to allow pupils to work online from home in the event that schools do have to close or year groups need to be sent home for a period of time.
The paper also warns of the risks of truancy and behavioural issues when children do return to school having been away from class for a lengthy period of time, and calls on the DfE to closely monitor statistics around attendance and exclusion in areas where local lockdowns or a spike in cases have occurred.
It also suggests extra consideration be given to pupils due to take exams in the summer of 2021 to ensure they do not fall behind.
Longfield said: "Too often during the first lockdown, children were an afterthought.
"If the choice has to be made in a local area about whether to keep pubs or schools open, then schools must always take priority."
Schools minister Nick Gibb said that education was a top priority for the government and that all children would return to school in September even in areas where local lockdowns are in force.
He told the BBC: "Schools will be open for all pupils from September and we're now looking locally when we impose new restrictions and will depend on things locally."
Yet, Professor Neil Ferguson, who resigned from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies [SAGE] warned that while there was a reduced risk of transmission among primary school pupils, the risks could be amplified in secondary schools, colleges and universities, with older teenagers having the potential to spread the virus in the same way as adults.
Although confident that it is possible to contain transmission, Ferguson said: "It will be challenging and there will be no going back to anything close to normal social interactions, at least not until we get back to next spring, potentially the availability of a vaccine."
He recommended that schools have a plan to continue education provision but reduce contact between pupils, suggesting a “partial attendance” strategy could be considered, such as a staggered timetable with set groups attending school at different times.
