As someone who lives in a listed building I am familiar with the problems of bunged-up gutters, crumbling stonework and leaking roofs.

Rarely a day seems to go by without my having to consult a bewildering variety of stone masons, plumbers and roofers.

It is an exhausting business so my sympathies are with the officials tasked with keeping the Palace of Westminster and Buckingham Palace in any kind of trim.

Both have a huge catalogue of repairs with the Independent Options Appraisals Report claiming that if MPs and peers choose not to move out at all, the work on the Grade I listed building is projected to last between 25 and 40 years at a staggering cost of £5.7bn.

And users of the palace would have “to tolerate high levels of disruption and disturbance over a long period.”

Another less costly option would be to move politicians out for about six years when the cost would drop to £3.5bn.

Given the historical significance of the Houses of Parliament – it was originally built on the site of William the Conqueror’s first palace and was bombed 14 times during World War Two – I think we can safely assume that the latter option will never happen.

My own guess is that the powers-that-be will simply muddle on patching up as best they can in long-established British tradition.

If nothing else the news demonstrated that the nation has not completely lost its sense of humour with the BBC reporting that campaign group Generation Rent have suggested that parliament moves to Hull and the Palace of Westminster be turned into affordable housing, saving the taxpayer £120m per year.

And if that is not enough to grapple with, The Times revealed on Wednesday that “the Queen might have to move out of Buckingham Palace to allow builders to carry out a £150m refurbishment.”

There are always sensitivities about the cost of repairing Royal palaces. When Windsor Castle burnt down in 1992 the money didn’t come out of the public purse but out of household funds.

In fact one of my favourite Royal stories occurred when a BBC Radio 4 reporter managed to snag an interview with Prince Edward.

With the flames licking all over the castle and clouds of smoke billowing in the air one could be forgiven for thinking that Royal protocol might be relaxed for a few seconds.

But, no, when the interviewer asked him: “What does your Mother think about all this?” the Prince sternly reminded him: “I think you mean the Queen.”

And now Nicola Sturgeon has taken over from Alex Salmond as Scotland’s first minister it’s understood she is far less inclined to prop up symbols of the British monarchy.