Palace of Westminster: Restoration and Renewal

Lord Hain Excerpts

Wednesday 25th June 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hain]

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the timeframe for making and implementing a decision on decanting the Palace of Westminster to enable its Restoration and Renewal.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)]

My Lords, the expectation is that the R&R client board, which is the commissions of both Houses, will publish costed proposals on three options—full decant, continued presence, and enhanced maintenance and improvement—by the end of the year, to enable both Houses to decide the way forward. Subject to those decisions, any significant decant would not begin in this Parliament, as the programme would commence with procurement, planning applications and enabling works.

[Lord Hain (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Senior Deputy Speaker confirm that a Joint Committee concluded in 2016 that the Palace of Westminster

“faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore”

and that through the 2019 Act both Houses agreed that the only option was a full decant? The noble Lord, Lord Lisvane, christened the basement a “cathedral of horror”. Fires break out all the time, and hazardous asbestos is everywhere. Will the noble Lord confirm that there is a real danger of a Notre Dame-type inferno or something worse unless something is done soon and both Houses of Parliament decant as soon as possible to allow a full restoration and renewal of the whole Palace; and will he confirm that the Joint Committee stated this would be the cheaper option, offering the best value for taxpayers’ money?

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)]

My Lords, the Joint Committee at the time stated that full decant was the cheapest option and in 2018 both Houses endorsed this approach. Since then, in 2022, both Houses endorsed a new mandate for the R&R works to explore a wider range of options, as I mentioned. Fire safety is of critical importance, and there has been significant work to the Palace. A major programme of fire safety works was concluded in 2021 which amounted to approximately £130 million of investment. Parliament actively manages the risks of asbestos. This does not negate the imperative of making progress to safeguard this unique building for future generations.