Embassy buildings 'not value for money'

THE taxpayer is not getting value for money for the £269 million annual spend by the Foreign Office on embassies and other overseas properties, a spending watchdog said yesterday.

A report by the National Audit Office criticised complex management and funding arrangements for the estate and "the absence of a clear strategy for its use".

Britain has 4,062 properties in 279 places across the globe, worth a total of 1.6 billion, which house 13,000 workers – 2,500 of whom live in staff accommodation.

Spending on the estate rose from 199 million in 2004-5 to 269 million in 2008-9, partly due to security upgrades after a bomb attack on the Istanbul consulate.