Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
53rd Report - Cost of maintaining the FCDO’s overseas estate
Public Accounts Committee
HC 884
Published 12 November 2025
Recommendations
6
Accepted
Complete FCDO's estate workforce strategy detailing required staff, skills, and a gap closure delivery plan.
Recommendation
FCDO’s ability to manage its estate is hampered by a lack of staff with the necessary skills and experience. Larger FCDO posts can have dedicated estate managers and teams, but smaller posts do not always have estate specialists on site. …
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Government Response Summary
The FCDO has completed its estate workforce strategy and has informed the Committee of its implementation alongside the publication of the Treasury Minute.
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12
Accepted
FCDO's overseas estate remains a severe risk despite capital increase and efficiency savings.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to ensure that it builds upon the more certain funding for its overseas estate it received in the 2025 Spending Review to put its overseas estate onto a sustainable footing with a target implementation date of end March 2029.
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16
Accepted
FCDO previously lacked integrated oversight of estate projects and policies, prompting a departmental merger.
Recommendation
FCDO’s large estates projects are delivered centrally, and FCDO considers that it has very strong controls on spending for specific projects.43 However, FCDO acknowledges that it currently lacks oversight of how all its projects align with each other or with …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to implement plans to improve its governance model, including establishing a new estates governance board and publishing a new maintenance strategy for posts, with a target implementation date of March 2026.
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17
Accepted
FCDO's federated structure and inadequate post resources hinder comprehensive estate data collection.
Recommendation
FCDO told us that it is very challenging to collect the data it needs to manage its estate as it is a “federated organisation,” and its central estate function relies on staff at each of its 282 posts to provide …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to set out the progress it has made ensuring that the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, including when it expects all its overseas posts to have a complete asset register that is updated regularly, implementing its integrated data management system, and to ensure that it is using the latest digital technology to monitor and manage its estate, including actions it is taking related to this.
HM Treasury
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19
Accepted
FCDO's disparate and unintegrated IT systems hinder central collection and effective management of estate data.
Recommendation
Even if staff at posts start collecting estate data, FCDO faces a challenge collecting this data centrally so it can use it to manage its estate portfolio.50 FCDO uses a range of different IT systems to manage its estate. FCDO …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees that FCDO should ensure the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, implement its integrated data management system, and use the latest digital technology to monitor and manage its estate.
HM Treasury
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20
Accepted
FCDO acknowledges inadequate digital estate management, planning a comprehensive workplace system by 2028.
Recommendation
We note that modern property IT portals which are tried and tested are readily available. FCDO accepted that it is an organisation whose digital management of its large estate portfolio is not up to scratch and that it needs to …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to set out the progress it has made ensuring that the collection of good quality estates data is embedded into the standard work of its overseas posts, including when it expects all its overseas posts to have a complete asset register that is updated regularly, implementing its integrated data management system, and to ensure that it is using the latest digital technology to monitor and manage its estate, including actions it is taking related to this.
HM Treasury
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23
Accepted
FCDO fails to centrally log lessons learned from major capital projects.
Recommendation
FCDO told us it had conducted lessons learned exercises for both the Washington and Ottawa projects and does so for all its major projects. However, FCDO does not currently record all its lessons in a single central log. FCDO told …
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Government Response Summary
FCDO will restart centrally collecting and analyzing lessons learned from its estate capital projects. Target implementation date: March 2026
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24
Accepted
Overseas posts face inadequate capacity and skills for proper estate maintenance.
Recommendation
Posts not covered by regional facilities management contracts have to use in-house staff or local contractors.65 While larger posts can have dedicated estate managers and estates teams, smaller posts may not have estates specialists on site.66 FCDO’s recent ‘FMR24’ exercise …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to complete its estate workforce strategy, setting out staff and skills needs, current staff and skills, and a plan to close any gaps.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (18)
2
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Much of FCDO’s overseas estate is in poor condition, and its estates maintenance backlog would cost an estimated £450 million to resolve. FCDO’s first priority with its overseas estate is providing a safe and legally compliant estate for staff and visitors. However, 933 of its 6,500 properties (around 15%) fail …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to put its overseas estate on a sustainable footing, reduce maintenance backlog, prioritise funding, and achieve efficiencies, but provides no specific details on how or when these actions will be taken or when the requested plans will be submitted to the Committee.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
FCDO’s central estate function does not have adequate oversight of estate activities, both at overseas posts and across its project portfolio. Eighty-four percent of overseas posts have responsibility for maintaining their own estate, either through in-house teams or local contractors, with support from the FCDO central estate function in Whitehall. …
Government Response Summary
The government has established a new Estates Committee in October 2025 to strategically review estate operations and investments, meeting quarterly, and is widening the remit of the Asset Management Portfolio Board. Additionally, an external review of the departmental operating model and project delivery function has been commissioned, with the final report due in Spring 2026.
4
Conclusion
Accepted
FCDO does not have all the data it needs to manage its estate effectively. FCDO has developed its central IT systems separately and they are not integrated with each other, or with systems at overseas posts. Overseas posts are responsible for collecting their own estate data, such as on building …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states that it has implemented it by writing to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute publication to set out the requested progress.
5
Conclusion
Accepted
Some FCDO high-profile estate projects have run significantly over time and budget. FCDO carries out large scale estate capital projects to refurbish or replace its buildings, but some recent projects, such as in Washington D.C. and Ottawa, have run significantly over time and budget. This has been due to issues …
Government Response Summary
The FCDO is re-establishing a comprehensive, centrally collated lessons-learned process for capital projects, with findings to be shared across teams. Its new Design Authority will embed these lessons into project designs, and strengthened gateway reviews will scrutinize cost, procurement, and design at key RIBA stages.
1
Conclusion
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on the costs of maintaining its overseas estate.1
Government Response Summary
The government states that this conclusion has been implemented and that the FCDO has written to the Committee alongside the publication of the Treasury Minute.
7
Conclusion
Deferred
In 2010 the Public Accounts Committee concluded that the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) estate strategy “provided a high-level description of the estate’s strategic aims but lacked detail on its estate requirements, whether the estate met these requirements, and how any gaps would be addressed.” At the time, FCO …
Government Response Summary
The government response is entirely unrelated to the FCDO estate strategy, instead detailing actions regarding "Britain's illegal meat crisis" and biosecurity at the border, including potential funding increases for Dover Port Health Authority and a new methodology for estimating imports by early 2026.
8
Conclusion
Deferred
FCDO told us it is now in a better position than it was previously to make progress in developing its estate strategy. It considers itself to have better data on its overseas estate than it had before, and has had some time to assess how to manage its new posts. …
Government Response Summary
The government response is entirely unrelated to the FCDO estate strategy, instead detailing actions regarding vaccine availability for animal diseases, including a five-year multi-stakeholder Action Plan to be published in late 2026 and an ongoing assessment of a Bovine TB vaccine application.
9
Conclusion
Deferred
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government response is entirely unrelated to the FCDO estate, instead detailing work on negotiations for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU and plans to examine strategic themes for strengthening long-term resilience to animal disease.
10
Conclusion
Not Addressed
FCDO told us that it is not happy with the current condition of its overseas estate and that this presents a severe risk to the organisation.21 Of FCDO’s 6,500 overseas buildings, 933 (around 15%) do not meet its internal target condition score of 70% or higher, according to which buildings …
Government Response Summary
Acknowledges the committee's conclusion that much of FCDO's overseas estate is in poor condition and has a large maintenance backlog.
11
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Since 2010, FCDO has funded its overseas estate capital and maintenance projects through property sales. It has generated £1.47 billion from sales, largely from a sale in Bangkok in 2018 and a partial sale of its Tokyo site in 2022. FCDO has been able to access these funds flexibly, subject …
Government Response Summary
The FCDO will launch an Overseas Network Review (ONR) in January 2026 to rationalize the overseas estate and examine whether there are assets to release. Pending the outcome of the ONR, the estate strategy will focus on creating a safer, smaller, and more secure estate, reducing costs and carbon emissions, and collaborating with other diplomatic services. The estates strategy is due to be updated next in Spring 2026.
13
Conclusion
Acknowledged
FCDO’s overseas estate is diverse, including not just offices and residences but also churches, schools, cemeteries and amenities for staff.33 The overseas estate must also adapt to a wide variety of conditions, including different local laws and requirements, the presence of locally skilled labour and access to material supplies. Consequently, …
Government Response Summary
FCDO’s overseas posts are responsible for managing their own operations, including their estates, with support from the Estates, Security and Network Directorate (ESND).
14
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Posts have responsibility for maintaining their estates. This is funded through budgets allocated to posts by FCDO’s geographic directorates.36 The Head of Mission in each post—the Ambassador or High Commissioner— has the discretion to decide, within the broad budget areas allocated, how 29 Qq 27, 65 30 Q 27; HMT, …
Government Response Summary
FCDO’s overseas posts are responsible for managing their own operations, including their estates, with support from the Estates, Security and Network Directorate (ESND).
15
Conclusion
Around £530 million of FCDO’s estate funding is held centrally by ESND and around £127 million is allocated to posts. FCDO told us that it does know how much of this £127 million is spent by posts on their estate, but only retrospectively. This is because funds are held locally …
18
Conclusion
Not Addressed
In November 2023, FCDO recognised that its £150 million estimate of its overseas estate maintenance backlog was likely to be an underestimate and commissioned professional surveyors to conduct a one-off exercise to identify the true backlog.47 FCDO ran a programme between April and October 2024 to collect data at 100 …
Government Response Summary
Acknowledges the committee's conclusion that FCDO's overseas estate is in poor condition and has a large maintenance backlog.
21
Conclusion
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 …
22
Conclusion
Accepted
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 …
Government Response Summary
FCDO will restart centrally collecting and analyzing lessons learned from its estate capital projects. Target implementation date: March 2026
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government describes FCDO's role in managing its overseas estate, the challenges it faces, and the support it provides to posts.
26
Conclusion
The NAO report highlighted that FCDO has not produced a workforce plan to understand and address capacity and capability issues either in ESND or at posts.72 FCDO told us that while it has skilled professionals in property based in the UK, a big area of its focus is how to …