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MPs and peers could vacate Parliament amid urgent repairs Parliament faces 'catastrophe' without £4bn repairs
(about 9 hours later)
A senior parliamentary committee is to recommend that all MPs and peers vacate both Houses of Parliament for six years to allow for urgent repairs. The Palace of Westminster risks "crisis" and a growing risk of a "catastrophic event" without a £4bn restoration, MPs and peers have warned.
The report will suggest they relocate to nearby buildings, as early as 2020, to enable the £4bn restoration project. All MPs and peers should vacate both Houses of Parliament for six years for urgent repairs, a senior parliamentary committee has recommended.
It will recommend the Department of Health's headquarters for MPs, and the QEII conference centre for the Lords. It wants the Department of Health's headquarters to host MPs, with Lords moving to the QEII conference centre.
Both Houses of Parliament would need to approve the move which is seen as the quickest and cheapest solution. Both Houses of Parliament are expected to need to approve the temporary move.
Leaking roofs, rotting stonework The Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster warned the decision on how to repair Parliament must not delay further and suggest work, estimated to take about six years, should start in 2023.
A delivery authority to prepare the budget should be formed, the report said. Then a detailed preparatory stage must take place to make sure plans were cost-effective.
Parts of the Palace of Westminster are so riddled with asbestos, frail stonework and ageing electrics and wiring, it has been said the Grade I-listed building would be knocked down if it was not protected.Parts of the Palace of Westminster are so riddled with asbestos, frail stonework and ageing electrics and wiring, it has been said the Grade I-listed building would be knocked down if it was not protected.
"The roofs are leaking. The stonework is rotting. We need to do a great deal more in fire compartmentation," according to Lord Lisvane, formerly the most senior Commons official. Mystery wires
"The Victorians left us lots of pictures of statues and all the rest of it but really good plans, so we know where the voids are, we really don't have." "The Palace of Westminster, a masterpiece of Victorian and medieval architecture and engineering, faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore," the report said.
"It is impossible to say when this will happen, but there is a substantial and growing risk of either a single, catastrophic event, such as a major fire, or a succession of incremental failures in essential systems which would lead to Parliament no longer being able to occupy the Palace."
Lord Lisvane, formerly the most senior Commons official, added: "The roofs are leaking. The stonework is rotting. We need to do a great deal more in fire compartmentation.
He added: "All of the facilities, whether it's electricity, IT, comms, sewage, fresh water, high pressure steam, central heating, all of that, have just been laid one over the other.He added: "All of the facilities, whether it's electricity, IT, comms, sewage, fresh water, high pressure steam, central heating, all of that, have just been laid one over the other.
"I don't think I'm giving away any secrets by saying there are lots of wires, nobody is quite sure where they go.""I don't think I'm giving away any secrets by saying there are lots of wires, nobody is quite sure where they go."
Move in tandem Downing Street response
Sixty years since Parliament's last major refurbishment, a committee of MPs and peers wants all members of the Commons and Lords to move out of Parliament in tandem. Sixty years since Parliament's last major refurbishment, some of the restoration committee's members were sceptical of the need for a total relocation at first, rather than having the repairs in stages to allow members to remain in situ.
Some of the restoration committee's members were sceptical of the need for a total relocation at first, rather than having the repairs in stages to allow members to remain in situ. The BBC Daily Politics' Mark Lobel said that after more than a year touring the crumbling parts and interviewing experts, a source close to the committee said the weight of evidence swayed them of the urgent need for action.
After more than a year touring the crumbling parts and interviewing experts, a source close to the committee told me that the weight of evidence swayed them of the urgent need for action.
The plan would be for MPs to relocate to the Department of Health's headquarters on Whitehall, building a temporary debating chamber in the courtyard in which they would continue to form and scrutinise our laws, vote, deliver statements and hold PMQs.The plan would be for MPs to relocate to the Department of Health's headquarters on Whitehall, building a temporary debating chamber in the courtyard in which they would continue to form and scrutinise our laws, vote, deliver statements and hold PMQs.
It is a safe location on the parliamentary estate and many MPs have offices in neighbouring buildings.It is a safe location on the parliamentary estate and many MPs have offices in neighbouring buildings.
Short walk Under the committee's plans, the House of Lords would be relocated to the nearby QEII conference centre, currently a commercial venue with an abundance of large conference rooms at its disposal, just across Parliament Square.
Under the committee's plans, the House of Lords would be relocated to the nearby QEII conference centre, currently a commercial venue with an abundance of large conference rooms at its disposal.
As it is actually owned by the government, the centre could quite easily be turned into a second chamber to shape laws and challenge the executive.As it is actually owned by the government, the centre could quite easily be turned into a second chamber to shape laws and challenge the executive.
Both venues are just a short walk from Parliament.Both venues are just a short walk from Parliament.
Members of both Houses of Parliament are expected to vote after they study and assimilate the committee's report.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We're awaiting a report and will respond in due course."A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We're awaiting a report and will respond in due course."
One advocate of the "total decant", expecting some opposition from MPs and peers at the scale of the wholesale relocation, the first since 1941, said privately that it would be "a real test of political guts" to get the plan through but that future generations would thank them for it. She stressed the Prime Minister had not yet seen or endorsed the report and said it was not yet clear whether MPs would have the final say.
One advocate of the "total decant", expecting some opposition at the scale of the first wholesale relocation since 1941, said it would be "a real test of political guts" to get the plan through but future generations would thank them for it.