Question

To ask the right hon. Member for East Hampshire, representing the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, how many staff are employed on the Restoration and Renewal programme; and what the average cost, including employer national insurance and pension contributions, is of those members of staff.

The Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body is the single client accountable to Parliament and oversees a Delivery Authority which carries out the work.

The Sponsor Body was established in shadow form in July 2018 and became a statutory organisation separate from Parliament on 8 April 2020 and has been engaged in a period of recruitment since then. The staffing is a mixture of directly employed staff, contractors and people seconded from the Houses. As of 31 January 2021, there are 15 directly employed staff in the Sponsor Body, mainly at a senior level and the average costs per employee is £103,633, including National Insurance and Pension.

The Delivery Authority was set up as a company limited by guarantee on 16 April 2020, and the Sponsor Body is the sole guarantor. The staffing is a mixture of directly employed staff, contractors and people seconded from the Houses. As of 31 January 2021, there are 55 directly employed staff in the Delivery Authority, mainly at a senior level and the average costs per employee is £86,810, including National Insurance and Pension.