§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what chemicals are being used by the company cleaning the stonework of the Palace of Westminster; what is the total cost of the contract; and if there has been any revision of the cost since the work commenced.
§ Sir George YoungThe cleaning is done entirely by water washing and grit jetting. No chemicals have been specified for use, or are known to have been used, by any of the contractors involved in this work. The total estimated cost of the first five stages (up to and including the Terrace) is £5,219,000. The original estimate for restoring all the Palace stonework, made in 1981 before work started, was £5.5 million. This estimate was revised in the light of the experience gained in the initial phases to between £7 million and £9 million at mid-1983 prices.