UK Inquiry Tracker

Restoration and Renewal inquiry

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 30 Jan 2017 Closed: 4 Jan 2018 Parliament page

The Palace of Westminster is a world heritage site and home to one of the busiest parliaments with more than a million people, including 100,000 school children, passing through its doors each year. The building is now considered to be one of the finest examples of 19th century neo-gothic Victorian … Read more The Palace of Westminster is a world heritage site and home to one of the busiest parliaments with more than a million people, including 100,000 school children, passing through its doors each year. The building is now considered to be one of the finest examples of 19th century neo-gothic Victorian architecture in the world. Although designed specifically for Parliament the building remains a Royal Palace. In 1965 the Queen Elizabeth II confirmed that its use should be permanently enjoyed by Parliament. In 1992 responsibility for maintaining the Palace was transferred from the Government to Parliament. In 2000, consulting engineers were commissioned to report on the condition of mechanical, electrical and public health systems in Palace basements. They concluded that a significant amount of services plant and equipment needed replacement within 5–10 years and that repair and maintenance was uneconomic. Between 2000 and 2008, several surveys were undertaken and solutions to the works proposed, including an evaluation exercise on steam vs pressurised hot water, and the formation of the Palace Basement Engineering Project. In 2008, there was a report of works completed so far in expectation of a significant programme of further works. In 2009, house authorities halted all previous plans, adopted a medium-term strategy and began working on a fully integrated long-term strategy. It was intended that the interim programme of work should secure the operation of the Houses in the Palace against risks of interruption owing to failure until 2020. Previous work In 2012, there was a pre-feasibility study on the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme on the condition of the Palace and the case for a major renovation. Further to this, in December 2013, a Deloitte Real Estate-led consortium was commissioned to produce independent appraisal of range of options for a Restoration and Renewal Programme. In June 2015, the Independent Options Appraisal (IOA) report was published and a Joint Select Committee appointed to consider findings of the report. In September 2016, the Joint Committee published its recommendations on a preferred way forward for the restoration and renewal of the building. Show less

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Event