Delays in refurbishing Parliament might value taxpayers an ‘eyewatering’ £500m
Michael Forsyth, Speaker of the House of Lords, has urged the Government to schedule a debate in order to stop the delays which are costing taxpayers a fortune
The Houses of Parliament(Image: NORRIE3699 via Getty Images)
Delays to giving the House of Parliament a makeover could cost taxpayers nearly £500 million. Since 2013, MPs have been calling for major restoration work to start on the crumbling Palace of Westminster.
It costs us £1.5 million a week in repairs and maintenance to fix failing electrical and mechanical systems, sewage and asbestos. Under recent proposals, renovations could take between eight and 61 years, with the latter option costing more than £39 billion.
Michael Forsyth, Speaker of the House of Lords, has now urged the Government to table a debate to halt the “eyewatering” and “intolerable” delays which will cost up to £479m next year.
The figure is over £100 million more than the cost of sprucing up Buckingham Palace, which took more than 10 years. Forsyth added the failure to hold a date for debating the makeover proposals has cost up to £135m. And if the debates aren’t held until December, costs will rise to up to £288m.
It comes after Sir Alan Campbell, the Leader of the House of Commons, was quizzed about when one will be held. He suggested it would not happen until an ongoing public accounts committee probe into the proposals concludes.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said a debate would be announced “in due course”.
Marie Goldman, a Liberal Democrat MP who sits on the R&R parliament team, said “the only path and best option is to give the go-ahead with the urgent first phase of works before something catastrophic happens”.
Sources said it is unlikely the issue will be debated by MPs before September while the government focuses on the shift from Sir Keir Starmer to his expected successor Andy Burnham.
If MPs opt to leave the building during building work, Commons business will be transferred to the so-called Northern Estate, near Buck House. Parliament was built after the Great Fire of 1834.
