Recommendation 24

Members of both Houses play a critical role in approving the forward direction of the programme. Back in 2020, we highlighted the challenges in building consensus across parliamentarians, which continues to be a significant risk.56 The Clerk of the House of 50 Committee of Public Accounts, Thirty-ninth Report of Session 2019–21, Lessons from major projects and programmes, HC 694, 29 January 2021 51 Q 123 52 Response to Committee of Public Accounts Tenth Report of Session 2022–23, Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster 53 Committee of Public Accounts, Tenth Report of Session 2022–23, Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, HC 49, 29 June 2022 54 Q 89 55 Committee of Public Accounts, Nineteenth Report of Session 2019–21, Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, HC 549, 2 October 2020 56 Committee of Public Accounts, Nineteenth Report of Session 2019–21, Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, HC 549, 2 October 2020; C&AG’s report, Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster: Progress Update, HC1016, Session 2021–22, 21 January 2022 16 Restoration & Renewal of the Palace of Westminster – 2023 Recall Commons also highlighted the challenges presented by Parliaments not being able to bind their successors. As such, he could not be wholly confident in what the respective Houses would decide on any given issue.57