Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Deferred
Palace of Westminster faces catastrophic damage risks, especially from fire incidents
Conclusion
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 damage to the Palace’ if decisions continue to be deferred. Both Clerks were uncertain how long the Palace could continue to be used in its current condition.10 For example, the Palace does not have robust systems to stop fire spreading, and while the Clerks remain confident that the Palace could be cleared to minimise the risk to human life,11 the building itself would be unlikely to be preserved. Since 2016, there have been 44 fire incidents across the parliamentary estate, with fire described as the ‘foremost risk’ to preserving the Palace for future generation.12
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. WT&E) to develop a substance misuse workforce strategic plan, with a target publication date of Autumn 2023. The department and NHS WT&E are also developing phase 1 of the national drug and alcohol treatment and recovery capability framework and a workforce calculator, both of which will be published in Autumn 2023. The department continues to support local authorities to improve the capacity and quality of their workforce, including the provision of workforce planning guidance in March 2023, as well as detailed workforce analysis, to ensure their plans meet the ambitions of the drug strategy. Treasury Minutes Archive4 Treasury Minutes are the government’s response to reports from the Committee of Public Accounts. Treasury Minutes are Command Papers laid in Parliament. Session 2022-23 Committee Recommendations: 364 Recommendations agreed: 327 (90%) Recommendations disagreed: 37 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number July 2022 Government response to PAC reports 1, 3 & 10 CP 722 August 2022 Government response to PAC reports 2, 4-8 CP 708 September 2022 Government response to PAC reports 9, 13-16 CP 745 November 2022 Government response to PAC reports 11, 12, 17 CP 755 December 2022 Government response to PAC reports 18-22 CP 774 January 2023 Government response to PAC reports 23-26 CP 781 February 2023 Government response to PAC reports 27-31 CP 802 March 2023 Government response to PAC reports 32-36 CP 828 May 2023 Government response to PAC reports 37-41 CP 845 June 2023 Government response to PAC reports 42-47 CP 847 July 2023 Government response to PAC reports 48-54 CP 902 Session 2021-22 Committee Recommendations: 362 Recommendations agreed: 333 (92%) Recommendations disagreed: 29 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number August 2021 Government response to PAC reports 1-6 CP 510 September 2021 Government response to PAC reports 8-11 CP 520 November 2021 Government response to PAC reports 7,13-16 (and TM2 BBC) CP 550 December 2021 Government response to PAC reports 12, 17-21 CP 583 January 2022 Government response to PAC reports 22-26 CP 603 February 2022 Government response to PAC reports 27-31 CP 631 April 2022 Government response to PAC reports 32-35 CP 649 April 2022 Government response to PAC reports 36-42 CP 667 July 2022 Government response to PAC reports 49-52 CP 722 Session 2019-21 Committee Recommendations: 233 Recommendations agreed: 208 (89%) Recommendations disagreed: 25 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number July 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 1-6 CP 270 September 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 7-13 CP 291 November 2020 Government responses to PAC reports 14-17 and 19 CP 316 4 List of Treasury Minutes responses for Sessions 2010-15 are annexed in the government’s response to PAC Report 52 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number January 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 18, 20-24 CP 363 February 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 25-29 CP 376 February 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 30-34 CP 389 March 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 35-39 CP 409 April 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 40- 44 CP 420 May 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 45-51 CP 434 June 2021 Government responses to PAC reports 52-56 CP 456 Session 2019 Committee Recommendations: 11 Recommendations agreed: 11 (100%) Recommendations disagreed: 0 Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number January 2020 Government response to PAC report [112-119] 1 and 2 CP 210 Session 2017-19 Committee Recommendations: 747 Recommendations agreed: 675 (90%) Recommendations disagreed: 72 (10%) Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number December 2017 Government response to PAC report 1 Cm 9549 January 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 2 and 3 Cm 9565 March 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 4-11 Cm 9575 March 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 12-19 Cm 9596 May 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 20-30 Cm 9618 June 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 31-37 Cm 9643 July 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 38-42 Cm 9667 October 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 43-58 Cm 9702 December 2018 Government responses to PAC reports 59-63 Cm 9740 January 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 64-68 CP 18 March 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 69-71 CP 56 April 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 72-77 CP 79 May 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 78-81 and 83-85 CP 97 June 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 82, 86-92 CP 113 July 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 93-94 and 96-98 CP 151 October 2019 Government responses to PAC reports 95, 99-111 CP 176 January 2020 Government response to PAC reports 112-119 [1 and 2] CP 210 Session 2016-17 Committee Recommendations: 393 Recommendations agreed: 356 (91%) Recommendations disagreed: 37 (9%) Publication Date PAC Reports Ref Number November 2016 Government responses to PAC reports 1-13 Cm 9351 December 2016 Government responses