Parliament not being transparent on R&R
Parliament is not being transparent with the public on the progress of R&R, an MP who formerly sat on one of the programme’s boards has claimed.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for the Cotswolds, said: “We are absolutely not being transparent with the public.” He added that “the public deserve to know what’s happening” with the programme’s progress.
While Parliament publishes reports on R&R progress every quarter, he said it would “not be unhelpful” to include information about incidents that had happened around the estate where safety had been jeopardised, or where parliamentary business had been disrupted.
A debate on the formal options for R&R – either fully decanting from the estate or maintaining a continued presence while works continue
– is now in question, according to responses given to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
More work is also being done to flesh out a controversial ”patch and mend” third option, which would see essential maintenance continue, and effectively end the R&R programme in its current form.
While CliftonBrown said those parliamentarians who were keen to stay while works were ongoing and those who would rather leave had made their feelings clear, he added it was “difficult to know where the MPs in the middle stand”.
Clifton-Brown recently stepped down from the R&R Programme Board, which oversees the management of the project, saying the board had already achieved its major objective of narrowing down 36 options to two and that he needed more time for campaigning with an election approaching.
However, another MP said some on the board are “beginning to lose the will to live” on the decision-making process.
They added that the Delivery Authority was at risk from losing staff as the chance of reputational damage increases: “What I would say, picking up a bit from the Delivery Authority, is: the longer it drags on, the more they’ll start losing people – good people.”
Clifton-Brown said there was a “reputational risk” for Parliament in delaying essential works, citing the potential embarrassment of having faulty electrical wiring during a State Opening of Parliament: “We could flick the switch and the whole system could blow.”
Costed proposals on all options are due to be presented to a new parliament in 2025. Parliament will then instruct the Delivery Authority to come up with a plan for its preferred option. Clifton-Brown estimates this will take seven years, with spades in the ground in 2032.
A UK Parliament spokesperson said: “We are committed to transparency and good governance, regularly publishing information about the ongoing costs of the project – and remaining on track to bring costed proposals to both Houses for a decision in 2025.
“A comprehensive incident reporting procedure is in place across Parliament and is reviewed in line with the relevant public regulations – with incident rates monitored on a quarterly basis.”