MPs will have to move out of the houses of parliament for at least six years while a £4bn restoration project is carried out.
The Palace of Westminster, a Unesco world heritage site, needs the renovation to save crumbling stonework, leaking roofs and to improve fire safety measures.
Prime minister Theresa May will back a recommendation by MPs on a restoration committee to decamp from the site between 2022 and 2028 – the first time it has moved since the chamber was bombed in the second world war.
The report, released today, is said to recommend the building currently used by the Department of Health in Whitehall as the new House of Commons, while the Lords are to move to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre at Victoria Gardens, SW1.
Last year Deloitte estimated if MPs were to stay in the building while restoration took place, it could cost up to £7.1bn. While, the firm noted, forcing them to move into temporary accommodation for six years could halve the cost.
The refurbishment will include replacing heating, electrical, ventilation, water and drainage systems as well as the removal of asbestos. The palace’s 4,000 windows and ironwork on the roof will be repaired.
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