Commons Speaker says Parliament is ‘putting ourselves in handcuffs’ over restoration delays

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has criticised delays to the Palace of Westminster’s restoration, saying Parliament spends too much time surveying the building and not enough time starting repairs.

Hoyle told the BBC that the process for approving renovations was “putting ourselves in handcuffs”. Current legislation prevents major work from beginning until Parliament has approved the project’s full scope and funding, he said.

“We spend more time doing surveys,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster. “Instead of doing surveys, why don’t we start repairing the building?”

His comments follow a warning from the Commons Public Accounts Committee that the restoration had reached “crunch time”. The committee said the programme could cost up to £40bn and take as long as 61 years, and estimated that each year of delay added £420m to its potential lifetime cost.

Hoyle also questioned why a fire-suppressing mist system had not been installed throughout the Palace. “The major part and the most historic parts of the building haven’t got it, and that’s what we need,” he said.

The proposed next step is a parliamentary debate and vote on whether to authorise up to £3bn of initial works and narrow four restoration options to two. Hoyle said the timing was for government business managers to decide. The BBC said government whips had discussed a vote before the end of 2026, but no date had been scheduled.

The options include moving both Houses out of the Palace for up to 24 years, at a cost of up to £15.6bn, or moving only the Lords out, in a plan estimated to cost £39bn and take 61 years. A final decision on the main restoration approach is due by 2030.

The debate comes amid wider concerns about the building’s condition. The BBC has reported that more than 1,650 asbestos-containing items are recorded across Parliament’s estate, and that the Public Accounts Committee warned the Palace could be vulnerable to a major fire. Earlier reporting on the asbestos count and the unscheduled restoration vote details the committee’s concerns about the costs and governance of further delay.