Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the FCDO’s overseas estate
Published 12 Nov 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Cost of maintaining the FCDO’s overseas estate All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 in a resource-constrained environment and that its 2025 Spending Review settlement also requires it to make 5% efficiency savings annually. FCDO told us that it is therefore taking a strategic look to identify where it can consolidate its estate and has developed two different prioritisation mechanisms for its resource and capital funding, to ensure funds are invested where they will have the greatest impact.30 FCDO also told us that it is determined to reduce the size and complexity of its estate over the next three to four years.31 FCDO highlighted opportunities to increase the efficiency of its estate, including through learning lessons from facilities management contracts, consolidating space and co-locating with other governments where appropriate.32 FCDO oversight and governance of its estate
From: Public Accounts Committee, 53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the FCDO’s overseas estate (HC 884), 12 November 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-third Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 12 January 2026).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifth-third report from Session 2024-26
Published 19 January 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the report's recommendations, and reports some as implemented and others with target dates.
- On estate strategy, the government agrees; an Overseas Network Review fully launching in January 2026 will look at the overall size and shape of the FCDO footprint, and the estates strategy is "due to be updated next in Spring 2026".
- On the maintenance backlog, the government agrees; the Overseas Estate Department is developing a more robust approach to its annual programme of works, with a target implementation date of end March 2029, and it will write to the Committee within six months categorising buildings by risk.
- On governance, the government agrees; a new Estates Committee was established in October 2025 and will meet quarterly, and an external review of the operating model and project delivery is due in Spring 2026.
- On lessons learned from capital projects, the government agrees; the FCDO "is re-establishing a comprehensive lessons-learned process across all capital projects", with a target implementation date of March 2026.