Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 22
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 completed or started work on 200 capital projects between April 2018 and November 2024, with a total value of £850 million. FCDO does not hold data on its track record in delivering its projects, but several high-profile projects have run significantly over time and budget.58 • FCDO’s Washington Embassy programme completed 12 months behind schedule and its cost increased from £112 million to £160 million (inclusive of contingency costs).59 FCDO told us the main issues were starting the project during COVID-19 and the 90-year-old residence being in poorer underlying condition and requiring more rectification than expected.60 • FCDO’s new High Commission building in Ottawa completed 18 months behind schedule and around £10 million over budget.61 FCDO told us that, as with Washington, the project was affected by COVID-19 and with hindsight it was a mistake to start both projects during a pandemic. Another issue was industrial action in the Canadian construction industry.62
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.