§ Mr. Leonardasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the estimate given by the Minister of Housing and Construction on 9th March, of £10.5 million as the cost of the new parliamentary building is still the best estimate that he can give; and if not, what figure should be substituted.
§ Mr. ChannonWhen on 9th March I gave this estimate, I added that this figure of £10.5 million could well turn out to be on the low side. In the light of further information available to me and after consultation with the architects of the winning design and their quantity surveyors, my best estimate of the cost at 31st March 1973 prices would be £11.55 million. This cost, of course, relates only to the items covered by the architectural competition and does not cover the many other supplementary matters dealt with in my speech of 9th March.—[Vol. 852, c. 764.]