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<p>Neither House has yet considered the recommendation of the Report of the Joint
Committee on the Palace of Westminster (House of Lords Paper No. 41, HC 659, Session
2016–17), published in September 2016, that both Houses should leave the Palace temporarily
while the essential restoration and renewal work is carried out. The future schedule
for the Restoration & Renewal Programme will depend largely on when both Houses
take a decision on the preferred delivery option, and on what that decision is. If
both Houses accept the Joint Committee’s recommendation, then it will be necessary
to acquire, design and fit out temporary accommodation, and to complete the refurbishment
of the House of Commons Northern Estate, before decant can take place. There will
also be several years of design work, including consultation with Members of both
Houses and more widely, which will be followed by a procurement phase for the works.
The Joint Committee recommended the establishment, by statute, of an independent Sponsor
Board and Delivery Authority to deliver the Programme. Assuming that a decision on
the future direction of the Programme can be taken soon, we expect that this work
could be completed in time for decant to take place in 2025.</p><p>The forecast cost
of repair and maintenance of the Palace of Westminster from 2017/18 to 2021/22, the
end of the current Medium Term Investment Plan period, is set out in the table below.
This includes both planned preventative and reactive maintenance, and current and
planned Strategic Estates projects, including a further round of mechanical and electrical
engineering work intended to keep the building habitable until 2025.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Planned
preventative & reactive maintenance</p></td><td><p>£10,950,421</p></td><td><p>£10,906,124</p></td><td><p>£11,044,424</p></td><td><p>£11,366,324</p></td><td><p>£10,969,424</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Current
& planned Strategic Estates projects</p></td><td><p>£82,423,288</p></td><td><p>£106,455,026</p></td><td><p>£98,110,475</p></td><td><p>£35,684,761</p></td><td><p>£25,058,596</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Medium-term
mechanical and electrical works</p></td><td><p>–</p></td><td><p>£801,903</p></td><td><p>£3,494,211</p></td><td><p>£18,301,903</p></td><td><p>£18,301,903</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>£93,373,709</p></td><td><p>£118,163,052</p></td><td><p>£112,649,110</p></td><td><p>£65,352,988</p></td><td><p>£54,329,923</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>Costs include VAT and optimism bias where appropriate, but no allowance has
been made for inflation. There is not yet a reliable forecast for routine maintenance
beyond the end of the current Medium Term Investment Plan period in 2021/22. It is
possible that reactive maintenance costs may rise in future as the condition of the
Palace continues to deteriorate.</p><p>It is assumed that, as the start date for the
Restoration & Renewal Programme approaches, wherever possible, work which can
be deferred until the Programme starts will be.</p><p> </p>
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