Friday, May 21, 2021
Bringing in the builders
It isn't just Boris Johnson who has been busy renovating his 'grace and favour' flat, though in his case there are still legitimate and unanswered questions as to who paid and whether any loans were properly declared. The Guardian reports that a secret plan to renovate five “grace and favour” flats on the parliamentary estate for senior House of Commons staff has cost nearly £700,000 of public money:
Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show that officials were initially given a budget of £280,000 for the refurbishment.
But after installing new kitchens, bathrooms, carpets and floors, receipts released to the Guardian show that more than £693,000 has been spent so far on outside contractors. Some of the work is yet to be completed.
The House of Commons commission, a powerful committee chaired by Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, decided in March 2020 to push through plans to transform existing flats and converted offices into modern apartments.
The flats, whose location has been withheld by the Guardian on security grounds, have easy access to sites including the Commons’ chamber and Portcullis House, where many MPs have offices.
Officials who will live in the flats include Helen Wood, the Speaker’s key adviser and chief of his staff, head of governance and the secretary to the commission Marianne Cwynarski, and the clerk of the house John Benger.
Parliamentary sources confirmed that some staff were invited to choose their own decor and fittings within an agreed budget.
Hoyle has been living in one of the flats, parliamentary sources confirmed. They claim that he is doing so while fire safety work is carried out on his official residence in the Palace of Westminster.
The paper says that neither the renovation plan nor its costs are referred to on the House of Commons Commission’s website and, in keeping with the committee’s rules, was not approved by parliament. So much for transparency and accountability.
Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show that officials were initially given a budget of £280,000 for the refurbishment.
But after installing new kitchens, bathrooms, carpets and floors, receipts released to the Guardian show that more than £693,000 has been spent so far on outside contractors. Some of the work is yet to be completed.
The House of Commons commission, a powerful committee chaired by Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, decided in March 2020 to push through plans to transform existing flats and converted offices into modern apartments.
The flats, whose location has been withheld by the Guardian on security grounds, have easy access to sites including the Commons’ chamber and Portcullis House, where many MPs have offices.
Officials who will live in the flats include Helen Wood, the Speaker’s key adviser and chief of his staff, head of governance and the secretary to the commission Marianne Cwynarski, and the clerk of the house John Benger.
Parliamentary sources confirmed that some staff were invited to choose their own decor and fittings within an agreed budget.
Hoyle has been living in one of the flats, parliamentary sources confirmed. They claim that he is doing so while fire safety work is carried out on his official residence in the Palace of Westminster.
The paper says that neither the renovation plan nor its costs are referred to on the House of Commons Commission’s website and, in keeping with the committee’s rules, was not approved by parliament. So much for transparency and accountability.
