Renovations to London's Palace of Westminster will not start for at least eight years, officials said tonight, as they scotched fears the parliamentary estate could sink into the Thames.
MPs agreed to a year-long study on how to deal with subsidence of the mock-Gothic building and the tilt of Big Ben's clock tower, which leans 18in at its peak.
A meeting of the House of Commons Commission, which is responsible for the estate's upkeep, delayed decisions on repairs until after the next general election, due in three years.
It released a statement tonight saying: "The commission agreed officials from both Houses should conduct an initial study that will allow them, in due course, to present options for the long-term upkeep of the Palace of Westminster.
"While noting there is no immediate risk to the structure of the palace, the commission is pleased such long-term planning is being undertaken in a thorough and strategic manner.
"It is envisaged this early work will take approximately a year, with any decisions on renovation not being made until the next parliament, with any work not commencing before 2020."
Cracks have appeared in walls inside the London landmark, with surveyors blaming Tube tunnelling and work on Parliament's underground car park in recent years.
But tonight's statement added: "The Palace of Westminster remains structurally sound and while the clock tower has a very slight tilt, this is not causing structural problems."
Last October, construction expert Professor John Burland, from Imperial College in London, said it would take 10,000 years for the famous tower to tilt as much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
He added: "It's moving incredibly slowly and always has done so and there really is no immediate danger at all."
Earlier today, Commons Speaker John Bercow brushed off fears Parliament could sink into the Thames, after Conservative MP Robert Halfon raised a point of order asking "whether or not to buy our life jackets".
Mr Bercow, who lives with wife Sally and their children on the parliamentary estate, replied: "I have never regarded you as an inveterate worrier.
"As you can see, I am not worried."