British lawmakers on Tuesday took aim
at Queen Elizabeth II’s household
accountants, saying they must cut their
costs and tackle a huge backlog of
repairs to the monarch’s crumbling
palaces, as records show the queen is
down to her last million.
This came as the Queen was hit with the
news her reserve funds have fallen to a
“historic low” of less than £1 million, The
Telegraph reports. The figure is
significantly lower than the £35 million
the Palace had at its disposal in 2001.
The situation has led MPs to advise the
Palace on how to save cash, after the
government managed to slash its energy
bills by one third.
It comes amid reports Buckingham
Palace and Windsor Castle are in need
of urgent repairs, with buckets used to
catch raindrops and ancient boilers
contributing to huge energy bills.
One MP on the committee recalled that
he had noticed leaks in Buckingham
Palace’s picture gallery on a recent visit.
“The rain was coming in on the expensive
paintings,” he told the committee.
The Victoria and Albert Mausoleum,
where the late queen Victoria and her
husband prince Albert are buried, has
been waiting for repairs for 18 years,
the report said, while other problems
include walls riddled with asbestos.
Some of Buckingham Palace’s 775 rooms
have not been refurbished for 60 years,
a palace official told MPs.
Labour chair of the committee Margaret
Hodge said the Treasury has a duty to
be “actively involved” in financial
planning for the Palace and have failed
to oversee matters properly.
“The household must get a much firmer
grip on how it plans to address its
maintenance backlog,” said Hodge.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said
tackling repairs was “a significant
financial priority for the royal
household”.
“Recent examples of work include the
renewal of a lead roof over the royal
library at Windsor and the removal of
asbestos from the basement of
Buckingham Palace,” she said. “The
need for property maintenance is
continually assessed.”
The committee acknowledged that the
queen’s household has managed to cut
its net costs by 16 percent since 2007-8,
but said most of this was through
increasing its income, such as by opening
the palace to tourists.
The royal household must do more to
make efficiency savings, the report
said.
It added that the palace should make
sure it has “sufficient commercial
expertise in place” in order to maximise
the royal family’s income, such as
through tours, leasing its properties and
making its facilities available for
commercial events.
Officials have also considered opening
the doors of Buckingham Palace more
often in order to bring in more money
from tourists, but decided there were too
many “constraints” including high set-
up costs, the report said.
Currently the palace is open to the public
during August and September, when the
queen takes her summer holiday in
Scotland, and there are private guided
tours at other times.
The palace told lawmakers it had
already made significant efficiency
savings and had been forced to dip into
reserves because of the huge cost of the
diamond jubilee celebrations marking
the queen’s 60th year on the throne in
2012.
Last year the queen received £31 million
from the taxpayer to cover her staffing
costs, travel and the maintenance of
her palaces. The so-called Sovereign
Grant is set to rise to £36.1 million in
2013-14 and to £37.9 million in
2014-15.
Buckingham palace recently advertised
for a new housekeeping assistant, whose
duties include running the royal baths
and arranging serving the tea. The
successful applicant is to be paid
£14,400 a year…although this is the
least of the royal household’s financial
worries.
at Queen Elizabeth II’s household
accountants, saying they must cut their
costs and tackle a huge backlog of
repairs to the monarch’s crumbling
palaces, as records show the queen is
down to her last million.
This came as the Queen was hit with the
news her reserve funds have fallen to a
“historic low” of less than £1 million, The
Telegraph reports. The figure is
significantly lower than the £35 million
the Palace had at its disposal in 2001.
The situation has led MPs to advise the
Palace on how to save cash, after the
government managed to slash its energy
bills by one third.
It comes amid reports Buckingham
Palace and Windsor Castle are in need
of urgent repairs, with buckets used to
catch raindrops and ancient boilers
contributing to huge energy bills.
One MP on the committee recalled that
he had noticed leaks in Buckingham
Palace’s picture gallery on a recent visit.
“The rain was coming in on the expensive
paintings,” he told the committee.
The Victoria and Albert Mausoleum,
where the late queen Victoria and her
husband prince Albert are buried, has
been waiting for repairs for 18 years,
the report said, while other problems
include walls riddled with asbestos.
Some of Buckingham Palace’s 775 rooms
have not been refurbished for 60 years,
a palace official told MPs.
Labour chair of the committee Margaret
Hodge said the Treasury has a duty to
be “actively involved” in financial
planning for the Palace and have failed
to oversee matters properly.
“The household must get a much firmer
grip on how it plans to address its
maintenance backlog,” said Hodge.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said
tackling repairs was “a significant
financial priority for the royal
household”.
“Recent examples of work include the
renewal of a lead roof over the royal
library at Windsor and the removal of
asbestos from the basement of
Buckingham Palace,” she said. “The
need for property maintenance is
continually assessed.”
The committee acknowledged that the
queen’s household has managed to cut
its net costs by 16 percent since 2007-8,
but said most of this was through
increasing its income, such as by opening
the palace to tourists.
The royal household must do more to
make efficiency savings, the report
said.
It added that the palace should make
sure it has “sufficient commercial
expertise in place” in order to maximise
the royal family’s income, such as
through tours, leasing its properties and
making its facilities available for
commercial events.
Officials have also considered opening
the doors of Buckingham Palace more
often in order to bring in more money
from tourists, but decided there were too
many “constraints” including high set-
up costs, the report said.
Currently the palace is open to the public
during August and September, when the
queen takes her summer holiday in
Scotland, and there are private guided
tours at other times.
The palace told lawmakers it had
already made significant efficiency
savings and had been forced to dip into
reserves because of the huge cost of the
diamond jubilee celebrations marking
the queen’s 60th year on the throne in
2012.
Last year the queen received £31 million
from the taxpayer to cover her staffing
costs, travel and the maintenance of
her palaces. The so-called Sovereign
Grant is set to rise to £36.1 million in
2013-14 and to £37.9 million in
2014-15.
Buckingham palace recently advertised
for a new housekeeping assistant, whose
duties include running the royal baths
and arranging serving the tea. The
successful applicant is to be paid
£14,400 a year…although this is the
least of the royal household’s financial
worries.
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