Chair picked to oversee £4bn Palace of Westminster overhaul

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Liz Peace takes on parliament revamp role

Liz Peace

Former British Property Federation boss Liz Peace has been appointed as the chair of the body that will oversee and manage the £4bn revamp of the Houses of Parliament.

Peace (pictured) will lead the shadow sponsor board, with the governing bodies of both the House of Commons and House of Lords approving her appointment earlier this week.

The sponsor board, together with its executive team, will act as the single client accountable to parliament and own the budget, business case and scope of the programme. It will also be responsible for overseeing the work of the delivery authority.

Legislation is required for the sponsor board therefore initially it will be set up in shadow form.

Earlier this year, both the House of Commons and House of Lords agreed to temporarily vacate the Palace of Westminster to allow the work on the building to be carried out in one single phase. They also agreed to establish an Olympic-style sponsor board, set up through legislation, and delivery authority to manage the work.

Wates and Lendlease are both working on schemes associated with MPs’ upcoming move out of the House of Commons.

Peace joins four other industry figures, as well as seven members of parliament from both houses on the board.

She is currently serving as chair of the Government Property Agency, which was established to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government Estate as well as the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

Members of the shadow Sponsor Board:

Liz Peace (Chair) is, currently serving as chair of the Government Property Agency, established to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government Estate. She also chair’s the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, which manages the UK’s largest regeneration project, as well as being a former Chief Executive of the British Property Federation.

Brigid Janssen has directed strategic communications for a wide variety of international financial institutions, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, the OECD in Paris, and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank in Washington. She has served on the board of a heritage organisation in Canada and currently she advises clients on reputation management.
Marta Phillips has had a successful career in the public and private sectors finishing as chief executive of the Pensions Advisory Service. She has continued with her interest in the public sector and now has a portfolio of non-executive appointments mainly in the government and the education sectors.
Dr Simon Thurley is a well-known historian and academic who has published many books on architectural history and heritage. Between 2002 and 2015 he was chief executive of English Heritage and before that, for five years, was director of the Museum of London.
Simon Wright has more than 40 years’ experience in construction and project management and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is currently the Chief Executive of Crossrail and was Director of Infrastructure at the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Lord Carter of Coles (Labour) has been a member of the House of Lords Audit Committee since 2013, on the Lords Rural Economy Committee since May 2018. Lord Carter was former member of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster.
Lord Deighton (Conservative) is the non-executive Chairman of Heathrow Airport, The Economist Group and the Holdingham Group and a non-executive Director of Square, Inc. He was CEO of LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games), was Commercial Secretary for HM Treasury and was responsible for the UK’s National Infrastructure Plan. He was a former member of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster.
Lord Geidt (Crossbencher) was recently the private secretary to The Queen. He was engaged in the decision to embark upon the present ten-year project to reservice Buckingham Palace.
Neil Gray (Scottish National Party) has been Member of Parliament for Airdrie & Shotts since the general election in May 2015. He is a member of the Commons Finance Committee and was a former member of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster. He is also currently the Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Work and Pensions.
Sir Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative) was elected as MP for West Derbyshire, now Derbyshire Dales, in 1986. He served as his party’s Chief Whip, first in Opposition and then in Government, before a four-year stint as Secretary of State for Transport. He has extensive experience of driving forward government business and implementation.
Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat) is currently on the House of Lords Statutory Instruments Joint Committee, and has chaired and been a member of a variety of Lords Committees for nearly 20 years. She was Party Chair for the Liberal Democrats.
Mark Tami (Labour) has been Member of Parliament for Alyn and Deeside since 2001. He is a member of the Commons Finance Committee and was a former member of the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster. Prior to working in Westminster, Tami was head of policy at the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.