The collapse-risk concrete at the centre of a crisis in school buildings has been found in Parliament.
The presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) poses no “immediate risk”, a parliamentary spokesman said.
It comes as ministers remain under pressure over the issue, with concerns about the state of school buildings sparking anxiety about the presence of Raac in other publicly-owned buildings and infrastructure.
“As part of routine ongoing investigations, Raac was identified in one area of the Palace.
“Structural engineers have confirmed there is no immediate risk. Where RAAC is found, mitigations will be put in place as necessary,” the spokesman said.
Concerns about the safety of the parliamentary estate are long-standing, amid repeated delays to plans to restore and refurbishment the famous site.
There have been repeated warnings in recent years about the threat of fire and asbestos across the estate.
The restoration project is estimated to cost several billion pounds.
More than 600 schools have now been surveyed for collapse-risk concrete, senior officials in the Department for Education have said.
Officials also confirmed that the department has received 98% of responses to a questionnaire about potential reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in their buildings.
It comes after ministers set a deadline of last Friday for school leaders and responsible bodies to respond.
The new figures emerged as permanent secretary at Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood and chief operating officer Jane Cunliffe appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (Pac).
The two top officials were grilled by MPs about the ongoing crisis, with Pac chair Dame Meg Hillier telling the civil servants that it was “disappointing” the pair had not come before MPs ready to provide more figures.
The Department for Education officials resisted questions about how many schools were waiting for a survey for Raac, amid questions from Dame Meg about whether the number was in the “tens” or “hundreds”.
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