Recommendation 10

The continual re-opening of decisions risks delaying the Programme even further with the concomitant risks to personal safety, the Palace structure and taxpayer money. We asked the Clerk of the House of Commons on what basis decisions would be opened up once the business case had been put to Parliament, and were told that Section 7 of the Act allows only for intervention in the Programme for “significant variations” after 10 C&AG’s Report, para 1.18 11 Q 12 12 Q 93 13 C&AG’s Report, para 1.8 14 Qq 45, 46 15 Qq 93, 94 16 Q 16 17 Qq 21, 44 18 Q 7 10 Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster its approval.19 We recognise the need for mechanisms to allow Parliamentarians and other stakeholders to reflect on, for example, how changes in technology might alter the Programme’s requirements, but remain concerned that this has the potential to lead to the postponement of action in favour of further discussion.20 There needs to be greater clarity in terms of the basis on which decisions are revisited in future in order to avoid an endless loop of reviewing the conclusions of previous reviews.21 19 Q 42 20 Q 41 21 Q 44 Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster 11 2 Managing the uncertainties within the Programme