Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee
The Crown Estate and associated properties: governance and management
Status: Open
Opened: 3 Jul 2026
Inquiry scope
The Crown Estate is independent of both the government and the Monarch, and has a statutory duty to maintain and enhance the value of the estate and the returns obtained from it.The Royal Household is the body which supports the Sovereign and members of the Royal Family in their official duties, and maintains the occupied royal palaces. In October 2025 , the Chair of the PAC wrote to the Crown Estate and HM Treasury seeking information on the lease arrangements for Royal Lodge. The Crown Estate and Treasury responded in November (links here and here respectively). Following these responses, the PAC announced its intention to hold an inquiry into the Crown Estate, based on this extant correspondence; on work from the National Audit Office updating its 2005 report , 'The Crown Estate - Property Leases with the Royal Family'; and on the Crown Estate’s Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26. The PAC will take evidence on whether the Crown Estate and associated properties have appropriate governance arrangements in place to achieve value for money, manage risk and realise benefits across their marine, urban and rural property portfolios. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit using the link below by 23:59 on Friday 17 th July 2026. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues.Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 2026 | Dan Labbad · The Crown Estate, Helen Price · The Crown Estate, James Chalmers · Royal Household | View ↗ |
Written evidence
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Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Labbad · Chief Executive | The Crown Estate | 1 |
| Helen Price · Chief Financial Office | The Crown Estate | 1 |
| James Chalmers · Keeper of the Privy Purse | Royal Household | 1 |
Correspondence
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| Published | Direction | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 2026 | To committee | Letter from the Chief Executive at The Crown Estate relating to a follow-up to the Committee’s oral evidence session on 13 July 2026, dated 5 August 2026 |