Failure to restore Parliament is reckless and hazardous to staff

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has published a report setting out the “real and rising risk” that the Palace of Westminster will be destroyed by a catastrophic event before it is restored.

Responding to the report, Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, said:

“This report outlines in the starkest of terms the damage and waste caused by a decade of parliamentary procrastination on deciding whether to save the most iconic public building in the country from crumbling into ruin.

“Parliament is the workplace for thousands of people, who – as the report makes clear, and as unions have warned for years – face an increasing risk of “catastrophic consequences” if those in charge continue to delay vital repair work.

“The report says it is “incredible” no real progress has been made in the five years since the House agreed a way forward. We would go further: it is reckless, hazardous and a failure in the employer’s duty of care.

“If MPs will not seek to protect the staff of the House – on whom they depend to properly represent their constituents – they can rest assured that the trade unions will. We will not hesitate to act to protect our members in Parliament if they are asked to work in a potentially unsafe building, or to continue to accept unreasonable working facilities.”