Delay to Parliament’s restoration risks ‘life-threatening incident’ with concerns over asbestos and legionella

There is the risk of a "potentially life-threatening incident" in Parliament due to delays in restoration to the crumbling buildings, trade unions have warned.

They raised concerns over “asbestos and legionella incidents, glass panels crashing into the atrium of Portcullis House and endless scaffolding erected to protect them from crumbling masonry”, in a letter to Parliament’s Restoration and Renewal Client Board, seen by outlet Politico.

The UK Parliament is held in a number of buildings, including the Palace of Westminster which was first built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the mid 19th century after a fire. Portcullis House and the Norman Shaw building are more modern.

It has been widely accepted for years that Westminster needs substantial repair to ensure it can continue to be the home of the UK Parliament. However the restoration project, which is estimated to cost several billions of pounds, has been beset by repeated delays. There have been repeated warnings in recent years about the threat of fire and asbestos across the estate.

The board is understood to have gathered on Monday, after it failed to make a decision on the site’s restoration at its last meeting earlier this month. Trade Union Side’s president Ken Gall, Unite’s parliamentary staff branch chair Max Freedman and GMB’s members’ staff branch chair Jenny Symmons said that for some of their members, “water leaking into offices and kitchens has become a regular occurrence; for others, heating and plumbing issues can make their workspaces unreasonable”.

“We appreciate the efforts of the Houses to patch things up in the short term, but this is not sustainable," they said. The unions argued for a “full decant” approach, which would mean moving MPs and peers out of the estate while restoration work takes place. This “offers the safest and most cost-effective way of proceeding”, they said in the letter.

The trio warned that keeping everyone on the estate during works would “substantially increase risks to safety, security, and evacuation to an extremely high level” and bring an “almost certain increase in the risk of harm (from the asbestos works alone)” for MPs and the thousands of visitors each year.

Ahead of the Restoration and Renewal Client Board’s meeting, Symmons told the PA news agency: “I’m hoping that the board do take seriously into account the views of workers on the estate, because it’s not just about what politicians believe is the right thing to do, it’s about trying to ensure the best outcome for the thousands of people who work on the parliamentary estate.

“We’re trying to advocate for their safety and their welfare at work, which is what we think everyone deserves.”

A UK Parliament spokesperson said: “We are getting on with work across the Parliamentary estate to ensure the continued safety of those who work and visit here, and to support the continued business of Parliament. This includes planning for the large and complex restoration of the Palace of Westminster and we are on track to bring costed proposals to both Houses for a decision next year.

“All options for the restoration work represent significant extra investment spread over many years and this highly complex project to improve one of the world’s most recognised buildings will support jobs across the UK. Where maintenance issues are identified, we act quickly to address them.”

Plumbing and pest problems in Parliament have grown in recent years, figures released in January showed. Incidents involving plumbing have more than doubled since 2021, while 541 requests for pest control were made on the parliamentary estate in the last year between December 2022 and December 2023.

The Observer recently reported that the more modern Portcullis House requires a “complete overhaul” of its roof and has “severe structural failings” in its atrium glazing, as netting has been installed to stop shards of glass falling.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.