Restoration and Renewal Recall

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 13 Jan 2023 Closed: 21 Jul 2023 Parliament page
The Committee is recalling senior Parliamentary officials including the clerks of both Houses and the Chief Executives of the Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority and Sponsor Body, to answer questions on the next steps in the programme. This follows the decision to abolish the Sponsor Body and reopen exploration of … Read more
2 Recommendations
32 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
4 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 8 events
21 Jul
2023
Report published
17 May
2023
Report published
6 Mar
2023
Correspondence
2 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
2 Feb
2023
Correspondence
2 Feb
2023
Correspondence
2 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
16 Jan
2023
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
2 Feb 2023
View on parliament.uk
Restoration and Renewal Recall
David Goldstone CBE · Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority Dr John Benger · House of Commons Dr Patsy Richards · Restoration and Renewal Client Team Simon Burton · House of Lords
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration & Renewal of the Palace of… HC 1021 17 May 2023 34 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Present cost and time estimates in ranges and report Restoration and Renewal pilot progress.
There remains a lack of clarity over what a restored Palace will look like, and how it will be delivered, which makes the programme currently extremely difficult to cost with any certainty. In June 2022 we highlighted how critical value … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the recommendation, discussing the cost of alcohol to society and related departmental work instead of the Palace of Westminster's R&R cost estimates and pilot progress.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Publish annual performance reports and improve member engagement for Restoration Programme.
Transparency will be critical to facilitate accountability, and for Parliament and the public to gain confidence in the programme and its leadership. The current Client Board, alongside the Programme SRO, identified previous parliamentary engagement as having been insufficient. For example, … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the recommendation, discussing funding for drug and alcohol treatment services instead of the Clerks' commitments to transparency and member engagement on the R&R programme.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Set out process for Clerks to manage conflicts between legal responsibilities.
It is unclear how the Clerks will manage their legal responsibilities to the programme alongside those to individuals working in and visiting the Palace. From January 2023 the Clerks, acting jointly, have overall responsibility for the parliamentary building works. They … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the recommendation, discussing drug strategy investment and alcohol treatment guidelines instead of the Clerks' process for handling conflicts of legal responsibility for the R&R programme.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Develop clear plan to reiterate contractor responsibilities for timely incident reporting and accountability
Compliance with health and safety protocols, in particular reporting asbestos incidents, remains unsatisfactory. The Clerks have personal responsibility for the health and safety of those working and using the Palace. To fulfil this responsibility, they will rely on others, such … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the recommendation, discussing a Local Outcomes Framework dashboard for drug and alcohol treatment instead of the Clerks' plans for reiterating contractor responsibilities for R&R health and safety.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Committee gathered evidence from key Palace restoration and renewal stakeholders
Following our previous reports on the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster (the Palace), we took evidence from the Programme SRO and Head of the R&R Client team, the Delivery Authority Chief Executive, the Clerk of the House … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the committee's conclusion, discussing strategies to tackle alcohol harm instead of the committee's evidence-gathering on the Palace of Westminster's R&R programme.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Palace of Westminster faces catastrophic damage risks, especially from fire incidents
The Clerks have legal responsibility for the safety of those working and using the Palace and the wider estate.9 The Clerk of the House of Commons told us he was very clear that eventually there will be ‘catastrophic and irreversible … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the committee's conclusion, discussing a substance misuse workforce strategic plan instead of the safety and fire risks within the Palace of Westminster.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Deferred
Fifty-Second Report - Restoration …
Palace of Westminster requires extensive and costly ongoing maintenance works
The House Administrations undertake maintenance works across the parliamentary estate. The Clerks told us maintenance costs totalled approximately £2 million per week, with the House Administrations spending around £100 million a year.13 The sheer quantity of building and maintenance work … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is irrelevant to the committee's conclusion, discussing CDDO's legacy IT risk framework and remediation programmes instead of maintenance works on the parliamentary estate.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 34 of 2 classified
Accepted 21
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 2
Deferred 7
Not Addressed 2
Total 2 recs + 32 conclusions
Correspondence 4 letters
6 Mar 2023 Joint correspondence from the House of Commons and House of Lords, dated 27 February 2023, following on from the oral evidence session on Restoration and Renewal Recall, held on Thursday 2 February 2023
Parliament page
2 Feb 2023 Sir John Benger KCB, Clerk, House at House of Common, re Asbestos update, dated 1 February 2023
Parliament page
2 Feb 2023 Joint correspondence from Sir John Benger KCB, Clerk, House at House of Common, David Goldstone CBE, Chief Executive, Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, Simon Burton, Clerk of the Parliaments, House of Lords House of Lords and Dr Patsy Richards, Interim Chief Executive, Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body, re R&R update, dated 30 January 2023
Parliament page
16 Jan 2023 Correspondence from John Benger, Clerk of the House, Palace of Westminster, re update on Asbestos related incidents, Fire incidents and Stone masonry falls, dated 22 December 2022
Parliament page