Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 May 2026
Letter from the Managing Director of Restoration and Renewal relating to Restoration and Renewal Programme evidence session: follow-up information, 23 April 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: Restoration and Renewal of Parliament: Costing and governance
Summary
Charlotte Simmonds, Managing Director of Restoration and Renewal, provides follow-up written information to the Public Accounts Committee following a 19 March 2026 evidence session. The letter sets out the rationale for selecting outcome level 4 as the scope for the Palace of Westminster restoration, details cost breakdowns across priority and other areas, and reports that 43% of sitting MPs have been engaged about the programme since the Client Team's establishment in 2023.
Key findings
- Outcome level 4 ('reasonably ambitious') was selected by the Member-led Programme Board as providing better value for money and lower compliance risk than level 5 ('transformative change'), representing a 5% cost differential
- 84–86% of Palace construction costs relate to the four priority areas agreed by Parliament in 2022: fire safety, building services, asbestos, and building fabric conservation
- Outcome level 4 delivers fire protection, fresh air ventilation to ~80% of rooms, climate resilience, accessibility improvements to ~60% of floors, a permanent education centre, and visitor facilities with higher search/screening capacity
- Since establishment in 2023, the R&R Client Team has conducted over 1,300 substantive engagement interactions with MPs and Lords; 43% of sitting MPs have been engaged, with 40% of new 2024 MPs reached since the General Election
- The R&R Client Board published detailed costed proposals in February 2026; parliamentary debates are planned to allow Members to decide how to progress
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Charlotte Simmonds, Russ MacMillan, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Judith Cummins, Lord Vaux, R&R Delivery Authority, R&R Client Board, Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“… outcome level 4 would provide comparatively better value for money, carry lower compliance risk, and deliver more substantively against the provisions in the 2019 Act.”
Key Quotes
“… the Programme Board determined that outcome level 4 would provide comparatively better value for money, carry lower compliance risk, and deliver more substantively against the provisions in the 2019 Act.”
“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 works.”
“In total, 43% of currently sitting MPs have been engaged about the Programme via the activities set out above.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗