Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, with reference to the concept proposals for the creation of a new visitor plaza and underground space beneath Central Lobby, whether those proposals are necessary for delivering the core safety and resilience objectives of the Programme; what the estimated capital cost of the proposed underground plaza and associated works is; what risk assessment has been undertaken in relation to archaeological disturbance; and whether this element was included in earlier scope levels.

Section 2(5) of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019, which established the framework for the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Programme, requires the Programme to have regard to (amongst other things) the need for improved visitor access to the Palace of Westminster after the completion of the Parliamentary building works.

As set out in the R&R Client Board’s recent report, Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals (HC Paper 1576), the preferred scope for the R&R works will deliver a fit-for-purpose and accessible visitor arrival space, including higher capacity security search and screen areas that will reduce the likelihood of queuing outside. The current proposal is to use the area in the basement directly below Central Lobby for visitors as an access point into the public areas of the remainder of the Palace.

The majority of the construction costs for the Palace relate to the priority areas which both Houses agreed for the R&R Programme in 2022—namely, fire safety and protection, building services, asbestos, and building fabric conservation. 84% of the Palace construction costs for the full decant option and 86% of the Palace construction costs for the enhanced maintenance and improvement plus (EMI+) option relate to these priority areas.

The new visitor arrival space is not defined as a ‘priority area’ for the R&R Programme as agreed by the Houses. However, its delivery does contribute to safety and security objectives, for example by improving the search and screen capacity at the visitor entrance, improving secure routes through the Palace for the public and members, and supporting new accessible visitor routes. These improvements could not be delivered through enhancements to the existing entrance in Cromwell Green (largely due to inadequate space requirements).

The proposed visitor arrival space and route account for 0.5% of Palace construction costs under the full decant option and 1.1% under the EMI+ option. This is based on the base construction costs for the Palace project set out in Annex 2, table 2 of the report, which exclude risk and inflation.

The proposed location for the visitor arrival space in the basement of the Palace was selected in part because it aligns with the footprint of existing plantroom which was constructed in the 20th century. These areas are expected to require extension regardless of the visitor search and screening facility, as they will need to accommodate increased plant capacity in future. As a result, any archaeological impact is likely to be primarily driven by the final below‑ground plant requirements, rather than by the co‑location of search and screening functions. The visitor arrival space therefore does not independently introduce a new or additional archaeological impact beyond what would already be required for plant expansion.

In 2024 the R&R Client Board considered the scope of the R&R Programme: that is, the improvements and benefits to be achieved in the end-state Palace, to which both Houses of Parliament will return. Having considered various scope levels, the Client Board decided against the most "transformational" scope but selected a scope which it agreed would deliver improvements while maintaining value-for-money. The selected scope including provision for improved visitor services is set out in the R&R costed proposals report. Earlier scope levels at previous stages in the Programme also included improvements to visitor and educational facilities.