Committee warns £4bn restoration of the Palace of Westminster is on hold because government is delaying crucial debate

Westminster

The parliamentary group which recommended a full move out of MPs and peers ahead of the £4bn restoration of the Palace of Westminster has warned the scheme is on hold because the government is delaying a crucial debate.

In September, a joint committee of MPs and peers said the best way to save the crumbling grade I-listed buildings was for MPs to move to the nearby headquarters of the Department of Health, Richmond House, while peers will move to the QE2 conference centre.

But committee member and spokesperson for the group, Labour MP Chris Bryant, said: “We are still waiting for the government to decide when we are going to have a debate in the House of Commons and the House of Lords on this, because it has to be agreed before anything further can happen.”

He added: “My anxiety is that the longer this delay goes on, the more we ratchet up the risk to the building and the risk to the project itself.”

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