NaijaRush: Queen 'could move out of Buckingham Palace'

Media caption Former Royal Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter: "Bits of the building keep falling off"

The Queen may have to move out of Buckingham Palace to allow maintenance work costing £150m to be carried out.

It is one option being considered by the royal household, which says the palace needs new plumbing and wiring, with some rooms last decorated in 1952.
It comes as the Crown Estate, which owns property on behalf of the Queen, returned record profits of £285m to the taxpayer last year - up 6.7%.
Public funding of the Queen is expected to rise by £2m next year - to £42.8m.

Historic high

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Scottish government has denied reports it could cut its contribution to the monarchy by between £1m and £1.5m when further powers are devolved.

 

Cracks have appeared in some exterior walls at Buckingham Palace  

 

Work to remove asbestos from the basement of Buckingham Palace was completed last year 

The monarch is paid 15% of the Crown Estate's profits by the UK government - including from the Crown Estate in Scotland - under the Sovereign Grant formula launched in 2011.
The latest accounts show the Queen last year received £37.9m from the grant - of which she spent £35.7m. That figure will increase to £40.05m this year, and is expected to rise to £42.8m next year.
The figure does not include the cost of providing security for the Royal Family.
It comes as the Crown Estate's annual results show its capital value is at a historic high of £11.5 billion - up 16.1%.

Analysis

 

By Daniela Relph, BBC royal correspondent
The publication of the royal accounts can be an uncomfortable time for palace officials. Under scrutiny is the way the Royal Family spends public funds. Are they value for money?
The palace puts the cost of funding the royals at 56p per person in the UK. It's a figure Sir Alan Reid, the keeper of the Privy Purse, unsurprisingly described as excellent value for money.
As he explained the detail of what the Royal Family spent, he spoke of expenditure being "contained" and of day-to-day spending being "very much under control".
The costs of royal travel often grab headlines. The latest figures show the Prince of Wales to be the most regular user of private jets for official duties, including an eight-day tour costing £446,159.
The palace stressed that these visits are undertaken at the request of the government and staff consider cost, security, disruption and the environment when deciding how to travel.
The accounts also showed a reduction in sick days for palace staff - that was put down to providing lots of sporting activities for those who work at the palace, as well as having doctors and nurses on site.

'Fundamental re-service'

The accounts show that almost half of the annual grant was spent on payroll costs.
Property maintenance dipped from £13.3m in 2013-14 to £11.7m, with a surplus of £2.2m transferred to reserves to help meet the future cost of work on Buckingham Palace.
 
The palace, in central London, is the Queen's official London home
Other details to emerge from the annual accounts for 2014/15 include:

• Annual expenditure has risen £3.6m or 11% over the past five years
• There has been a 21% increase in travel costs, which rose from £4.2m in 2013-14 to £5.1m in 2014-15
• The royal household made 63 journeys that cost £10,000 or more
• The most expensive journey made by the royal household was £446,159, for an official visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Colombia and Mexico from 28 October to 5 November
• The average number of sick days taken by employees of the royal household was 5.8 days - below the national average of 6.6
• The Queen undertook 196 public engagements - 113 fewer than in 2013/14
• A total of £3.8m was spent on the general maintenance of the royal estate, an increase of 12% on 2013-14 and 23% on 2012-13

The Queen, who is 89, spends a third of the year hosting events at Buckingham Palace - her official London home.
Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the Privy Purse, said: "Over the coming years, the maintenance of the estate and in particular Buckingham Palace, will present a significant financial challenge.
"We will continue to work closely with the trustees to ensure that the funding for the royal household reflects that challenge."
Royal sources told reporters that significant amounts of asbestos needed to be removed from Buckingham Palace in a project described as a fundamental "re-service".
"One option is for the palace to be vacated. The initial estimate for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace looks like £150m," a source said.
 
The monarchy cost the taxpayer £35.7m for the second year running
"That depends on how you go about refurbishment, whether you do it in parts or the whole thing (at once)."
Graham Smith, from campaign group Republic, called for a change in approach.
"It is time that the whole funding system is scrapped, re-written, that the monarchy is put on a proper budgetary fitting - and that maintenance of the palace is taken out of their hands and given over to the same people that look after the Tower of London very well."

What is the Crown Estate?

• It is an independent commercial property business and one of the largest property portfolios in the UK
• The majority of assets are in London, but the estate also owns property in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Holdings include Great Windsor Park and Ascot racecourse, but most of the portfolio is made up of residential property, commercial offices, shops, businesses, and retail parks
• The estate started in 1760 when it was agreed that surplus revenue from the crown's estate would go to the Treasury and, in return, the monarch would receive a fixed annual payment
• The estate belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign, but cannot be sold by them and profits go to the Treasury
• The monarch is then given 15% of the annual surplus of the estate, known as the Sovereign Grant, to support official duties

Source: The Crown Estate

Reports that Scotland's contribution to royal funding could be reduced by more than £1.5m if plans for further devolution go ahead have been dismissed by both the UK and Scottish governments.
A royal source quoted by the Press Association said there could be a cut if profits from the Crown Estate in Scotland are retained by the Scottish Parliament rather than the UK Parliament in a year's time.
But both the Scottish and UK governments said they did not expect devolution to have any negative impact on Scotland's contribution to funding the monarchy.
A UK Treasury spokesman said the sovereign grant would not be "adversely affected" by devolution.
And a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Scotland will continue to make the same financial contribution to the monarchy as at present - there will be no reduction in the sovereign grant as a result of devolution of the Crown Estate."