Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 25
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)
ESND provides support to posts in managing their estates by setting corporate standards, and providing guidance and technical assistance. FCDO commissions around 75 regional specialists to support posts: regional technical leads that provide advice on maintenance to posts, and technical works supervisors that provide maintenance in secure areas. FCDO also commissions a worldwide inspection programme which includes mandatory inspections to check the safety and compliance of equipment and machinery at posts.70 FCDO explained that these inspections cover what it classifies as high-risk maintenance activities, such as fire inspections, electrical testing inspections and gas inspections. FCDO told us that it is trying to provide as much guidance, information and support to posts as it can, and going forward it will need to look at how to ensure posts have the skills, knowledge and information required.71 64 Q 71 65 C&AG’s report, para 2.9 66 C&AG’s report para 1.6 67 C&AG’s report, paras 2.18-19 68 Q 53 69 C&AG’s report, paras 2.18, 2.20 70 C&AG’s report, paras 1.6, 2.14 71 Qq 36-37, 53-54 16
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.