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.
HM Treasury
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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.
HM Treasury
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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
HM Treasury
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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 (5)
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.
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