Cost of Parliament centre spirals

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7233342.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Parliament's new visitor centre - already more than a year overdue - is on course to cost about £12.5 million, or 50% more than originally planned.

There were gasps in the Commons as the new estimated total was announced, and a review has been set up to establish the reason for a "series of problems".

The facility is intended as a public entrance to Parliament, with better security than at present.

But Lib Dem MP Norman Baker said he was becoming "increasingly concerned".

He highlighted "what appears to be [the] inability of the House of Commons Commission to manage projects within time and within budget", referring to the body which oversees the provision of services to the Parliament building.

Referring to the cost of a covered walkway in the Commons' Star Chamber Court, he said it had cost £422,000 to "put glass on some stilts".

"Is it not time we had some proper economic management of the House of Commons Commission so the public can have confidence that public money is being properly looked after in this place?"

'Technical problems'

Nick Harvey, who is also a Liberal Democrat MP and speaks on behalf of the commission, said there had been a number of issues with material beneath the site, and several "technical problems" were discovered with the building itself.

"Both of these have led to the delays, and the remedial works which have been needed and have added to the cost."

He said the original budget had been £8.6 million.

The cost was now estimated at £11.2 million but "professional fees for completing the project and reviewing the lessons learned about what went wrong may add about another £1 million", Mr Harvey said.

And additional equipment needed inside the building would mean an additional £250,000 was spent, he added.

Mr Harvey stressed that a recovery manager had been recruited to ensure the project was completed and to write a report on the problems encountered.