Recommendation 7

In 2010 the Public Accounts Committee concluded that the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) estate strategy “provided a high-level description of the estate’s strategic aims but lacked detail on its estate requirements, whether the estate met these requirements, and how any gaps would be addressed.” At the time, FCO told the Committee the FCO board was reviewing a new draft estate strategy, based on NAO recommendations.15 FCDO told us that it has tried hard to develop an estate strategy, but it is complicated to develop a model that balances central ownership with local flexibility across a variety of different locations. FCDO highlighted the different types of property in its estate portfolio, which includes churches, schools, cemeteries and a hospital. FCDO overseas posts’ estates vary considerably in size, from large compounds, such as in New Delhi, to a small, shared office space.16