Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 21
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 ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
FCDO’s overseas estate contains a number of large properties, including Embassies, official Residences and compounds.55 Many of these properties, such as the Washington Embassy or the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris, are large heritage assets which perform a key role in supporting the achievement of the UK government’s diplomatic aims and operations. The age of such assets means that they often require extensive work to make them safe and fit for purpose.56 Repairing, refurbishing or replacing large estate assets can require FCDO to carry out significant capital 50 Q 51 51 C&AG’s report para 1.22 52 Q 74 53 C&AG’s report para 1.23; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Annual Report and Accounts 2023–24, HC 63, 29 July 2024 54 Qq 46, 74 55 C&AG’s report, paras 1.2, 1.6 56 Qq 71-72 14 projects, and FCDO told us that it is seeking to deliver 120 capital projects. FCDO estimated in April 2025 that its total capital requirement for its pipeline of such projects was £2.1 billion. FCDO told us it has now assessed all its proposed projects against its prioritisation scorecard, to identify those projects that are most urgent and should be started first.57
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.