Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
3
Conclusion
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO’s central estate function does not have adequate oversight of estate activities, both at overseas posts and across its project portfolio. Eighty-four percent of overseas posts have responsibility for maintaining their own estate, either through in-house teams or local contractors, with support from the FCDO central estate function in Whitehall. …
Government response. The government has established a new Estates Committee in October 2025 to strategically review estate operations and investments, meeting quarterly, and is widening the remit of the Asset Management Portfolio Board. Additionally, an external review of the departmental operating model …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO does not have all the data it needs to manage its estate effectively. FCDO has developed its central IT systems separately and they are not integrated with each other, or with systems at overseas posts. Overseas posts are responsible for collecting their own estate data, such as on building …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation and states that it has implemented it by writing to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute publication to set out the requested progress.
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
Some FCDO high-profile estate projects have run significantly over time and budget. FCDO carries out large scale estate capital projects to refurbish or replace its buildings, but some recent projects, such as in Washington D.C. and Ottawa, have run significantly over time and budget. This has been due to issues …
Government response. The FCDO is re-establishing a comprehensive, centrally collated lessons-learned process for capital projects, with findings to be shared across teams. Its new Design Authority will embed these lessons into project designs, and strengthened gateway reviews will scrutinize cost, procurement, and …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO’s ability to manage its estate is hampered by a lack of staff with the necessary skills and experience. Larger FCDO posts can have dedicated estate managers and teams, but smaller posts do not always have estate specialists on site. The NAO’s survey of posts found that 65% of respondents …
Government response. The FCDO has completed its estate workforce strategy and has informed the Committee of its implementation alongside the publication of the Treasury Minute.
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on the costs of maintaining its overseas estate.1
Government response. The government states that this conclusion has been implemented and that the FCDO has written to the Committee alongside the publication of the Treasury Minute.
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO told us the capital increase was valuable and gives it a chance to sort out its estate, but it does not by itself get it out of the danger zone and its estate remains a severe risk to its organisation.29 FCDO told us that it would still be operating …
Government response. The government agrees to ensure that it builds upon the more certain funding for its overseas estate it received in the 2025 Spending Review to put its overseas estate onto a sustainable footing with a target implementation date of end …
HM Treasury
16
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO’s large estates projects are delivered centrally, and FCDO considers that it has very strong controls on spending for specific projects.43 However, FCDO acknowledges that it currently lacks oversight of how all its projects align with each other or with its policies for other areas, such as maintenance, and whether …
Government response. The government agrees to implement plans to improve its governance model, including establishing a new estates governance board and publishing a new maintenance strategy for posts, with a target implementation date of March 2026.
HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO told us that it is very challenging to collect the data it needs to manage its estate as it is a “federated organisation,” and its central estate function relies on staff at each of its 282 posts to provide it with data.45 Staff at posts are responsible for updating …
Government response. The government agrees to set out the progress it has made ensuring that the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, including when it expects all its overseas posts to have …
HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
Even if staff at posts start collecting estate data, FCDO faces a challenge collecting this data centrally so it can use it to manage its estate portfolio.50 FCDO uses a range of different IT systems to manage its estate. FCDO property data, for example, is stored on its Pyramid system, …
Government response. The government agrees that FCDO should ensure the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, implement its integrated data management system, and use the latest digital technology to monitor and manage …
HM Treasury
20
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
We note that modern property IT portals which are tried and tested are readily available. FCDO accepted that it is an organisation whose digital management of its large estate portfolio is not up to scratch and that it needs to transform how it works. It told us that its ambition …
Government response. The government agrees to set out the progress it has made ensuring that the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, including when it expects all its overseas posts to have …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO completed or started work on 200 capital projects between April 2018 and November 2024, with a total value of £850 million. FCDO does not hold data on its track record in delivering its projects, but several high-profile projects have run significantly over time and budget.58 • FCDO’s Washington Embassy …
Government response. FCDO will restart centrally collecting and analyzing lessons learned from its estate capital projects. Target implementation date: March 2026
HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
FCDO told us it had conducted lessons learned exercises for both the Washington and Ottawa projects and does so for all its major projects. However, FCDO does not currently record all its lessons in a single central log. FCDO told us that its portfolio management office had stopped recording lessons …
Government response. FCDO will restart centrally collecting and analyzing lessons learned from its estate capital projects. Target implementation date: March 2026
HM Treasury
24
Recommendation
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the F…
Accepted
Posts not covered by regional facilities management contracts have to use in-house staff or local contractors.65 While larger posts can have dedicated estate managers and estates teams, smaller posts may not have estates specialists on site.66 FCDO’s recent ‘FMR24’ exercise found limited local expertise in posts led to them routinely …
Government response. The government agrees to complete its estate workforce strategy, setting out staff and skills needs, current staff and skills, and a plan to close any gaps.
HM Treasury