Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Deferred
Develop clear plan to reiterate contractor responsibilities for timely incident reporting and accountability
Conclusion
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 as contractors working within the Palace to follow expected processes and meet any requirements. Following our June 2022 report, the Clerks agreed they needed to improve health and safety incident processes, and said they had reviewed and updated Parliament’s safety escalation arrangements. However, despite the Clerks’ reassurances, existing processes are not operating effectively. For example, in September 2022 a contractor did not inform the Clerks of an asbestos incident or limit the dangers as quickly as expected. Fortunately, the asbestos discovered on that occasion in a roof void was not dislodged, but it could easily have been broken up as the contractor drilled through to gain access. This would have resulted in a far more serious incident. To help mitigate these risks, the Clerks have appointed a new Health and Safety Director and have been compiling an incidents database. Recommendation 5: Before embarking on the more substantial R&R works, the Clerks must set out how they will reiterate the importance to contractors of their responsibilities and contractual requirements, particularly concerning the timeliness and accuracy of reporting, and what they will do to hold them to account for meeting these responsibilities. Restoration & Renewal of the Palace of Westminster – 2023 Recall 9 1 Progressing the works
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented On 20 April 2023, the department released a Local Outcomes Framework dashboard to local authorities covering a range of outcomes, including rates of progress in treatment, completions of treatment, and deaths in treatment. All the data presented in the dashboard will be benchmarked to enable national and regional comparisons. All outcomes framework measures will be analysed and interpreted alongside each other by the department to improve understanding nationally and locally of variation in performance between areas. Using data in the Local Outcomes Framework dashboard and the unmet need toolkit the department will support local areas to understand their data and support them to take appropriate action, prioritising areas where success rates are particularly low, connecting them where appropriate to areas with better success rates to share good practice.