Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 29
29
When we last examined the Programme, the House of Commons planned to decant to Richmond...
Conclusion
When we last examined the Programme, the House of Commons planned to decant to Richmond House, creating a temporary chamber.78 We heard that of the £70 million written off when the Commons decided not to pursue this plan, most was related to the planning permission. The Clerk of the House, Accounting Officer for these works, emphasised the importance of other work to refurbish the Northern Estate and his concerns that the compromises required of Members under the Richmond House plan would have proved unacceptable.79 He told us the Commons does not yet have another plan to accommodate itself during the work.80 Continued presence approach
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Second bullet - Risks of interdependent programmes The Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Parliaments agree with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: subject to endorsement by both Houses of Parliament, the target date for implementing the new two-tier governance structure – and therefore establishing the programme board – is the end of the calendar year. The programme board will be the primary instrument for managing risks to the R&R programme, including those related to interdependent programmes. The Commissions’ Report proposes a new two-tier governance structure that is part of, not separate from, Parliament’s decision-making structures. This allows for both the Palace works and related projects elsewhere on the Estate to be effectively co-ordinated going forward. Currently each of the two Houses and the Sponsor Body maintain their own strategic risk registers which capture risks to the achievement of each organisation’s corporate objectives. The new governance structure will allow for the programme risks to be captured in one place and scrutinised and monitored by the Programme Board. The Programme Board will also be able to manage dependencies and conflicts, including between R&R and Parliamentary-led estates work, and specifically arrangements for temporary accommodation and any moves of people and the collections that become necessary. As referenced in response to recommendation 1, there are governance structures in place at an official level to manage dependencies through the R&R Dependencies Group.