LONDON – MPs hit out at a £168,000 bonus for one of the key figures working on a stalled plan to fix the U.K.’s crumbling parliamentary estate.
David Goldstone, CEO of the Restoration & Renewal delivery authority tasked with developing options for refurbishing the Palace of Westminster, received the sum on top of his £311,000 salary last year, according to the body’s annual report.
Six other executives from the authority received bonuses ranging between £45,000 and £86,000.
But MPs from the cross-party public accounts committee expressed “surprise” at the award “given the slow pace of the program” as they wrote to Goldstone and other senior officials to request an update on restoration.
Chairwoman Meg Hillier called it “staggering that so many questions remain unanswered” six years after MPs voted for a major restoration initiative.
Plans for a massive refurbishment known as “R&R” have been plagued by a series of setbacks and delays since MPs first approved proposals to temporarily vacate, or “decant”, the building while essential works were carried out.
Much of the historic palace dates back to the 19th century — although parts are considerably older — yet it has not been properly refurbished since before World War II. The National Audit Office and other expert bodies warn the risks posed by fire and falling masonry are growing.
For the past year the R&R delivery authority has been working on two main options for refurbishment, which will ultimately be decided by MPs and peers: “full decant” versus some form of “continued presence” on the parliamentary estate.
Hillier asked whether the parliamentary authorities are upholding their obligations under the law to keep people safe, after POLITICO revealed last week that MPs are looking at a third option of “patch and mend” in the much-delayed quest to refurbish the Palace.
The estimated cost of a full decant has risen from £4 billion, when MPs first voted for it, to around £11 billion — a price tag many MPs feel cannot be justified amid mounting U.K. living costs. Estimates for the cost of refurbishment if lawmakers stay in place while works are carried out are even higher, and the plan would take considerably longer.
A spokesperson for the delivery authority said “All elements of pay and remuneration are set through rigorous benchmarking against other organizations delivering large-scale projects,” and are “designed to attract the highly expert people needed to design and deliver a program of this magnitude, complexity, and profile.”
They added that “those who did receive bonuses were assessed… to have delivered in accordance with a range of performance objectives and targets.”
This story has been updated to include comment from the delivery authority.