Recommendation 9

FCDO’s first strategic goal for its estate is for it to be safe, compliant with all relevant health and safety standards, and for it to be as secure as possible.19 The Permanent Under-Secretary told us that his most important duty is to look after the welfare of his staff and other people hosted on 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.12 15 Committee of Public Accounts, Adapting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global estate to the modern world, Twenty-Fifth Report of Session 2009–10, HC 417, 1 April 2010; and Minutes of Evidence, Adapting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global estate to the modern world, 1 March 2010, Q2 16 Q 32 17 Q 32 18 Q 34 19 Q 49; C&AG’s report, Figure 3 9 FCDO’s estate and that getting the estate right is therefore a very high priority, as managing the estate badly has very real consequences for FCDO’s staff.20