Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 December 2025
Letter from Marianne Cwynarski, Director General (Operations), House of Commons, 4 December 2025
Summary
Marianne Cwynarski, Director General (Operations) of the House of Commons, writes to the Finance Committee following her evidence session on 25 November 2025, providing requested information on two matters: Victoria Tower procurement costs and Security Programme project costs, while balancing transparency with security concerns.
Key findings
- Victoria Tower second tender exercise cost £600,000 total; £360,000 funded by House of Commons Administration; information already in public domain via Freedom of Information requests.
- Derby Gate Adaptions project outline business case approved at £23,996,000.
- New Palace Yard forecasted costs are £62,000,000.
- Other Security Portfolio Programme projects remain commercially sensitive or are security-measure-related and disclosure risks could enable hostile actors to assess security levels and plan attacks.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
parliamentary-infrastructurepublic-financesecuritytransparency
Key actors
Marianne Cwynarski, House of Commons Administration, Finance Committee, Director of Security
Notable line
“… place, if they knew how much they cost. They could then use that to plan an attack.”
Key Quotes
“… the total direct cost of the second tender exercise for the Victoria Tower fabric safety was £600,000; £360,000 of which was funded by the House of Commons Administration.”
“… my commitment to transparency needs to be balanced with the need to keep everyone who works at and visits Parliament safe”
“… it would be possible for a hostile actor with specialist knowledge to work out the level of security provided by the measures in place, if they knew how much they cost. They could then use that to plan an attack.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗