Two miles of “dangerous” electrical cables have been ripped out of Buckingham Palace to stop a fire sweeping through the King’s official residence.
A ten-year refurbishment programme has focused initially on the risks from a blaze or flood to the sprawling Grade I listed building.
“Completed works include moving water tanks, installing new boilers, a switch panel and back-up generators, removing 3.5 kilometres (two miles) of dangerous electrical cabling, the East Wing, and some projects in the West Wing,” a report by the National Audit Office said.
The spending watchdog praised the management of the blueprint to modernise the palace which hosted around 50,000 guests in 2023/24 at a range of events and functions including garden parties, investitures, lunches and large receptions.
The Royal Household agreed with the Treasury a fixed budget of £369 million for the programme of work, which is funded through an uplift to the Sovereign Grant, paid over ten years from 2017.
The NAO said: “The Household has made good progress against the overall programme objective to mitigate the real risk of operational failure.
“The programme is within budget, but some individual projects have increased in cost and taken longer to complete than expected.”
Some £239 million had been spent on the refurbishment by the end of March 2024, 65 per cent of the £369 million allocated.
More than 80 per cent of planned operational improvements have been completed including new lifts, lavatories and an accessible entrance ramp.
The project has had to cope with the Covid pandemic, “variable inflation” and supply chain difficulties.
The NAO stressed that there remained limited unallocated contingency funds to pay for any “unknown risks” without reducing the planned outcomes.
But it concluded: “The Household has managed the £369 million, ten-year Buckingham Palace Reservicing programme well and has demonstrated good practice in a number of areas.
“It had clear objectives and a budget that reflected the risk of undertaking a heritage programme.
“There has been a strong focus on keeping within the budget, and the Household has managed this so far, despite challenges, by making trade-offs, actively managing risks and learning lessons.”
