Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Until February 2022, the Sponsor Body was preparing a business case based on Parliament fully...
Conclusion
Until February 2022, the Sponsor Body was preparing a business case based on Parliament fully moving out of the Palace during the works (known as a ‘full decant’). In December 2020, the House of Commons Commission agreed to ask the Sponsor Body to consider the implications of the Commons staying in the Palace during works (known as continued presence). In April 2021 the Speaker formally set out what this analysis should cover and asked the Sponsor Body to return before the end of the financial year for advice on whether to take this further. This followed the House of Lords Commission’s endorsement of the approach.81
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Delivery Authority should progress the intrusive surveys during the summer to determine what the asbestos removal plan should be, including whether it is safe to remain in the Palace whilst these works take place. The Sponsor Body CEO and the Delivery Authority CEO accept this recommendation. Target implementation date: This recommendation is already being implemented, with plans for commencing intrusive surveys on track to start in July 2022. The plans for commencing intrusive surveys in the upcoming recess periods, which will continue to run over the next few years, are on track to start in July 2022. These surveys will provide the Delivery Authority with key structural and ground condition information as well as adding to the existing records of asbestos. This additional information will provide further details on the quantity, type and location of asbestos in the areas being surveyed. Determining how asbestos will be treated within the future R&R works, and implications for safe working zones, will be significantly influenced by the scale and scope of the programme which will be subject to future decisions by the Houses. A range of options for future programme scope, and approaches to how works will be delivered, are currently being developed to inform those decisions. The risks in relation to the House of Commons remaining in the Palace during the works were outlined within the Continued Presence Impact Study published in February 2022.