Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 31
31
The Sponsor Body returned to the Commissions with its initial analysis on the impact of...
Conclusion
The Sponsor Body returned to the Commissions with its initial analysis on the impact of a continued presence in January 2022.82 In the initial analysis, the Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority assumed that the Commons Chamber, alongside other functions requested by the Speaker of the House such as a media viewing gallery, would remain in the Palace. They looked at two scenarios: staying in the Commons Chamber or moving the Chamber to a different location within the Palace. In both cases, they considered delivering the same scope as the full decant option.83
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.