1.5 In the 1995 public expenditure round the FCO's capital investment programme for the following three years was cut by approximately a third. The FCO concluded at the end of 1995 that it would be very difficult to fund the new Embassy from the capital budget and also leave resources for other estate requirements around the world. In deciding to pursue a PFI procurement, the FCO had reservations about whether the full potential benefits of PFI could be achieved on this project. This was because:
■ the site had already been selected;
■ a design acceptable to the local planners had already been developed;
■ the site had been designated for diplomatic premises, so restricting the scope for commercial development; and
■ inviting alternative and possibly innovative designs could prejudice achievement of their target completion date.