Sir Charles Walker corrected a written answer on Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

21 April 2023 · Commons written answer · Restoration and Renewal Client Board

Alan Brown (Scottish National Party, Kilmarnock and Loudoun) asked written question 180027 on 14 April 2023. Sir Charles Walker answered on 21 April 2023 for the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, and Sir Charles Walker corrected the answer on 21 April 2023. The correction replaced 2 figures (£0.3 million, £0.6 million) with 1 figure (£1 million). Altogether 179 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, what the estimated cost is for drone surveys associated with the restoration and renewal project.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
The R&R Programme is carrying out tens of thousands of hours of complex building surveys and investigations to develop even more detailed records of the Palace of Westminster. These records are being used to inform design and planning, and future decisions on the essential restoration work required. Two of the ~~intrusive~~ surveys ~~currently being undertaken,~~ the Building Intrusive Survey and Pull Out Tests, are categorised as Building Surveys Works. Third party contractor costs incurred to 31 March 2023 on these surveys are £0.3 million. Third party contractor costs incurred to 31 March 2023 on the ~~ground investigation works are £0.6 million.~~ ~~These figures do~~ not include Delivery Authority internal staffing costs or the costs of the contractor planning and overseeing the survey programme because those costs cannot be disaggregated by individual survey. ~~All these surveys are ongoing and spend will continue beyond 1 April 2023.~~	The R&R Programme is carrying out tens of thousands of hours of complex building surveys and investigations to develop even more detailed records of the Palace of Westminster. These records are being used to inform design and planning, and future decisions on the essential restoration work required. Two intrusive surveys, the Photogrammetric and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) surveys, have recently started which contain an element of drone surveys as well as other activities such as high-resolution photography. The total estimated cost of these surveys is £1 million although this covers a number of activities. Due to how the activity schedules in these contracts are priced it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the drone flights from the rest of the works being undertaken. However, it is anticipated that a significant portion of the costs will relate to the contractor resource required to deliver the surveys and the processing of the images taken (rather than the cost of the drones themselves). This figure also does not include Delivery Authority internal staffing costs or the costs of the contractor planning and overseeing the overall survey programme because those costs cannot be disaggregated by individual survey.

Original

Corrected

The R&R Programme is carrying out tens of thousands of hours of complex building surveys and investigations to develop even more detailed records of the Palace of Westminster. These records are being used to inform design and planning, and future decisions on the essential restoration work required.
Two of the ~~intrusive~~ surveys ~~currently being undertaken,~~ the Building Intrusive Survey and Pull Out Tests, are categorised as Building Surveys Works. Third party contractor costs incurred to 31 March 2023 on these surveys are £0.3 million. Third party contractor costs incurred to 31 March 2023 on the ~~ground investigation works are £0.6 million.~~
~~These figures do~~ not include Delivery Authority internal staffing costs or the costs of the contractor planning and overseeing the survey programme because those costs cannot be disaggregated by individual survey.
~~All these surveys are ongoing and spend will continue beyond 1 April 2023.~~

The R&R Programme is carrying out tens of thousands of hours of complex building surveys and investigations to develop even more detailed records of the Palace of Westminster. These records are being used to inform design and planning, and future decisions on the essential restoration work required.
Two intrusive surveys, the Photogrammetric and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) surveys, have recently started which contain an element of drone surveys as well as other activities such as high-resolution photography. The total estimated cost of these surveys is £1 million although this covers a number of activities.
Due to how the activity schedules in these contracts are priced it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the drone flights from the rest of the works being undertaken. However, it is anticipated that a significant portion of the costs will relate to the contractor resource required to deliver the surveys and the processing of the images taken (rather than the cost of the drones themselves).
This figure also does not include Delivery Authority internal staffing costs or the costs of the contractor planning and overseeing the overall survey programme because those costs cannot be disaggregated by individual survey.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1609894?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`a25836834cdc2054abe5b9a276f65d7fff58a83659a331e2ce47521d5a6a3069`