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To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what representations he has made to the BBC regarding the reduction in funding of BBC Parliament and its implications for public awareness of the work of Parliament.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what representations he has made to the BBC regarding the reduction in funding of BBC Parliament and its implications for public awareness of the work of Parliament.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The House of Lords Administration is aware that there was a change in the management structure of BBC Parliament and the funding levels of the service in spring/summer 2021, however we are not aware of any further reduction in funding of BBC Parliament over the last 18 months. Neither the Senior Deputy Speaker nor I have made any representations to the BBC.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of dissatisfaction with the parliamentary phone system expressed in the House of Lords Members Survey; and whether that will lead to a procurement review.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of dissatisfaction with the parliamentary phone system expressed in the House of Lords Members Survey; and whether that will lead to a procurement review.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service has noted Members’ dissatisfaction with the existing telephone handset solution expressed in the House of Lords’ Member Survey and has accepted the need to take remedial action.
An investment programme mandate to replace the current service which is now end of life has been recently approved by the bicameral Digital Strategy Board and will formally begin over the summer recess with the development of a business case alongside continued market research and implementation planning. The programme will prioritise addressing Members’ clear dissatisfaction with the telephone handsets. The programme has begun engaging with Members to ensure that the replacement solution addresses the dissatisfaction and will continue to do so after the summer recess.
At its meeting on the 26 May the Services Committee was advised that the project timelines had not yet been defined but it was expected that all user migration would be completed by the end of 2023.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the risk of damage to the Victoria Tower from (1) the excavations, and (2) the vibrations from heavy piling work, required for the development of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the risk of damage to the Victoria Tower from (1) the excavations, and (2) the vibrations from heavy piling work, required for the development of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
The full assessment of risks to the Parliamentary Estate, including the Victoria Tower, from the construction of the Holocaust Memorial can only be made once detailed design proposals are available to review.
Different construction and excavation plans will have different impacts and risks. We plan to install vibration monitors when and where appropriate.
It is expected that the Holocaust Memorial project team will engage with the House as a key stakeholder throughout the detailed design stage.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many members of the House of Lords have a (1) laptop, (2) desktop, and (3) printer (a) in their parliamentary office, or (b) at home, paid for out of House of Lords funds.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many members of the House of Lords have a (1) laptop, (2) desktop, and (3) printer (a) in their parliamentary office, or (b) at home, paid for out of House of Lords funds.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
Since 2015, the following equipment has been paid for out of Parliamentary funds:
- 501 Members have a laptop
- 365 Members have a desktop
- 186 printers have been provided to Members’ offices
- 65 Members have been provided a printer at home.
Members are entitled to an allowance of two devices out of a choice of either a desktop (on estate installation only), a laptop or an iPad. These allowance options are flexible depending on accessibility requirements. Printers issued for onsite use are provided in addition to this and are usually assigned to an office space rather than a specific Member. The 186 printers in Members’ offices includes larger printers in shared offices and smaller printers in offices occupied by one Member.
In June 2020 as a temporary measure the Services Committee agreed to reimburse Members buying a printer for home use, for up to the value of £200. This was reviewed in light of changes to COVID guidelines and came to an end in September 2021 except for those members eligible to participate in proceedings virtually. During the time the scheme ran, 65 members claimed back the cost of a printer at home and a total of 99 Members were reimbursed for printer consumables for home printing during this period. PDS did previously provide printers to members for home use, this offer was stopped by the Information Committee in 2015. It is likely however, that very few, if any of these devices are still functioning, as these devices have surpassed their useful lifespan and are no longer supported by the manufacturer.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps the House of Lords catering services are taking to support British farmers and growers by buying British produce.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps the House of Lords catering services are taking to support British farmers and growers by buying British produce.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
It is always the intention of Catering & Retail Services to purchase high quality, fresh, seasonal produce. In catering outlets and for events the majority of fresh products purchased are British: meat, dairy, bread, eggs, and fruit and vegetables (when in season) are sourced from within the UK.
When tendering for new supplier contracts the Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service (PPCS) add to contracts wording such as:
"The Authority [PPCS] seeks to appoint fresh produce suppliers that have robust environmental and local sourcing policies and give preference to those that subscribe to Linking Environment and Farming marque (LEAF), or Red Tractorâ¦"
Seasonality and the provenance of our ingredients feature heavily on our menus and promotional material. Key calendar dates such as British Food Fortnight are supported in our outlets through promotional activity, along with other regional showcases, highlighting produce and traditional food recipes from across the UK. Catering & Retail Services have also worked with the National Farmers Union for their Back British Farming campaigns.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what progress has been made with enabling electric vehicles to be charged on the Parliamentary Estate; and how many electric vehicle charging points are available to members of the House of Lords.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what progress has been made with enabling electric vehicles to be charged on the Parliamentary Estate; and how many electric vehicle charging points are available to members of the House of Lords.
My Lords, despite what the Order Paper says, clearly, I am not the Senior Deputy Speaker. The noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, has asked me to reply as chair of the Services Committee— lucky me.
The Services Committee has considered proposals for electric vehicle charging points to be installed in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. Unfortunately, the scheme we considered did not offer value for money and, regrettably, there are currently no charging points for Members in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. However, we are totally committed to finding a solution and will continue to look at how to provide Members with access to charging facilities.
My Lords, despite what the Order Paper says, clearly, I am not the Senior Deputy Speaker. The noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, has asked me to reply as chair of the Services Committee— lucky me.
The Services Committee has considered proposals for electric vehicle charging points to be installed in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. Unfortunately, the scheme we considered did not offer value for money and, regrettably, there are currently no charging points for Members in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. However, we are totally committed to finding a solution and will continue to look at how to provide Members with access to charging facilities.
My Lords, despite what the Order Paper says, clearly, I am not the Senior Deputy Speaker. The noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, has asked me to reply as chair of the Services Committee— lucky me.
The Services Committee has considered proposals for electric vehicle charging points to be installed in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. Unfortunately, the scheme we considered did not offer value for money and, regrettably, there are currently no charging points for Members in the House of Lords’ part of the estate. However, we are totally committed to finding a solution and will continue to look at how to provide Members with access to charging facilities.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what progress has been made with enabling electric vehicles to be charged on the Parliamentary Estate; and how many electric vehicle charging points are available to members of the House of Lords.
I think the noble Lord is ready to organise a raiding party. He raises an important point. The director of facilities contacted the Speaker’s Office about the charging points in Speaker’s Court, and it responded by saying, “There are four charging posts providing charging for eight cars. Access to the points is currently managed by Mr Speaker’s Office. The points are intended for use by Mr Speaker, ministerial cars and visiting dignitaries.” I say to the noble Lord that I intend to raise this more formally and seek a full dialogue with the Speaker’s Office. If we can find a way forward to help noble Lords in this House to access that facility, we will certainly do so.
I think the noble Lord is ready to organise a raiding party. He raises an important point. The director of facilities contacted the Speaker’s Office about the charging points in Speaker’s Court, and it responded by saying, “There are four charging posts providing charging for eight cars. Access to the points is currently managed by Mr Speaker’s Office. The points are intended for use by Mr Speaker, ministerial cars and visiting dignitaries.” I say to the noble Lord that I intend to raise this more formally and seek a full dialogue with the Speaker’s Office. If we can find a way forward to help noble Lords in this House to access that facility, we will certainly do so.
My Lords, I sympathise with the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, who has the unfortunate task of answering for a bureaucracy straight out of “Yes Minister”. I may have the answer: many of us in this House have been arguing for this for four years, during which time the costs have risen by 700%. Noble Lords can imagine how surprised I was to discover that, at Christmas, eight charging points were put in Speaker’s Court for ministerial cars. I was even more surprised to find that the government car service will not allow them to use them, as of yet. Would it not be possible for your Lordships’ House to use these, and for the ban on our using the underground car park to be lifted, which I understand is in force to allow equipment for restoration of the House to be stored on two floors?
I could not agree more with the noble Lord. We passed the legislation; we should be setting an example. However, in this case of the scheme we recently looked at, we must consider value for money. We could not justify going ahead with the scheme at that time because we could not justify the cost of it to this House or to the wider public whose money we are spending. That was the scheme we recently turned down. We will continue to look at opportunities and ways of finding provision for your Lordships to charge their cars on this site. It is a priority. We have to be seen to be doing what we are asking others to do.
I could not agree more with the noble Lord. We passed the legislation; we should be setting an example. However, in this case of the scheme we recently looked at, we must consider value for money. We could not justify going ahead with the scheme at that time because we could not justify the cost of it to this House or to the wider public whose money we are spending. That was the scheme we recently turned down. We will continue to look at opportunities and ways of finding provision for your Lordships to charge their cars on this site. It is a priority. We have to be seen to be doing what we are asking others to do.
My Lords, is it not a poor example to the country as a whole that here at Westminster we do not have the facility to charge electric vehicles? We are encouraging the whole country to buy electric vehicles and setting targets for the reduction of carbon, yet here at Westminster we have no facilities, other than for those my noble friend mentioned. I apologise for asking him a difficult question, since he is a good colleague and friend—which I cannot say about many Ministers—but, here of all places, where we should be setting an example, we are signally failing to do so.
Following discussions with Black Rod, representations were made to the Serjeant at Arms about the facilities at the other end, which the noble Baroness mentions. This has been given active consideration and we were given to understand that this would be looked at on a case-by-case basis. I say to the noble Baroness that I am hopeful that we might see some progress on that matter before too long but, as it stands, we are not able to use those chargers.
Following discussions with Black Rod, representations were made to the Serjeant at Arms about the facilities at the other end, which the noble Baroness mentions. This has been given active consideration and we were given to understand that this would be looked at on a case-by-case basis. I say to the noble Baroness that I am hopeful that we might see some progress on that matter before too long but, as it stands, we are not able to use those chargers.
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, referred to the two EV charging points in the underground car park. I must declare an interest as I have used them on several occasions. We can no longer use them. Can the noble Lord explain whether he has had any conversations with the authorities of the other House about us being allowed to use those in future in the same way that Members of that House are able to?
My Lords, it is difficult because the Services Committee agreed that it wished to proceed with a plan for EVCs. In April last year, it was decided that a business case had to be made. That is the proper way to consider these matters. In July last year, the design authority revised the scheme it was submitting for the business case, having identified, hitherto, construction problems when it put in the EVCs in Speaker’s Court. By September, the committee was advised that the original estimate of £53,000 had increased by 700% and was now £370,000. For that
reason, it was decided in November that we could not go ahead. Those are the reasons that the last plan was scrapped but we continue to try to find an option now to progress. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Geddes, who just asked this question, is on the edge of getting an all-electric car and I hope that by the time he gets it we will have somewhere for him to charge it.
My Lords, it is difficult because the Services Committee agreed that it wished to proceed with a plan for EVCs. In April last year, it was decided that a business case had to be made. That is the proper way to consider these matters. In July last year, the design authority revised the scheme it was submitting for the business case, having identified, hitherto, construction problems when it put in the EVCs in Speaker’s Court. By September, the committee was advised that the original estimate of £53,000 had increased by 700% and was now £370,000. For that
reason, it was decided in November that we could not go ahead. Those are the reasons that the last plan was scrapped but we continue to try to find an option now to progress. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Geddes, who just asked this question, is on the edge of getting an all-electric car and I hope that by the time he gets it we will have somewhere for him to charge it.
My Lords, I have intervened on this subject on previous occasions. May I ask the noble Lord to enlarge slightly on “value for money”? I totally support the noble Lord, Lord Cunningham. Surely, we must set an example in the House and have these charging points so that we can use all-electric cars?
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, for his earlier comments about these matters and the discussions we have had. Yes, we have looked at Chancellor’s Court. The standard office electrical circuits like the one in Chancellor’s Court are not designed to provide the level of power continually that we need for EVCs. Chancellor’s Court is also used, of course, for building projects and storing project cabins and machinery. I can tell the noble Lord that in the continuing review we are not going to look at Chancellor’s Court as a long-term alternative; rather we will look at the Peers’ car park and Royal Court.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, for his earlier comments about these matters and the discussions we have had. Yes, we have looked at Chancellor’s Court. The standard office electrical circuits like the one in Chancellor’s Court are not designed to provide the level of power continually that we need for EVCs. Chancellor’s Court is also used, of course, for building projects and storing project cabins and machinery. I can tell the noble Lord that in the continuing review we are not going to look at Chancellor’s Court as a long-term alternative; rather we will look at the Peers’ car park and Royal Court.
May I invite the noble Lord to come down to Chancellor’s Court with me? He will find four 13-amp charging points similar to what one might have on the side of one’s house, but they are weatherproof. Who can use those and could not a similar design be used for other courts? They may not look that good but an electric power lead outside the office next door and an external socket would surely be a very good start.
At the outset, I thank the noble Baroness and the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, for walking the estate with me and our technical people, looking at their ideas and trying to find solutions. I am pleased that one of the solutions that we had been discounting, about plugging into lamp posts, now has proper, active consideration as a result of their efforts. Chancellor’s Court concerns me, because it is the access through which school parties come to visit. It is not the best access for vehicles. Royal Court, on the other hand, has sufficient electricity supply; it is easy to access and it has plenty of parking space. I will not discount what the noble Baroness says. I will have another look at it, but I think that we perhaps have better options and I hope that the Committee will consider them as well.
At the outset, I thank the noble Baroness and the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, for walking the estate with me and our technical people, looking at their ideas and trying to find solutions. I am pleased that one of the solutions that we had been discounting, about plugging into lamp posts, now has proper, active consideration as a result of their efforts. Chancellor’s Court concerns me, because it is the access through which school parties come to visit. It is not the best access for vehicles. Royal Court, on the other hand, has sufficient electricity supply; it is easy to access and it has plenty of parking space. I will not discount what the noble Baroness says. I will have another look at it, but I think that we perhaps have better options and I hope that the Committee will consider them as well.
My Lords, the noble Lords, Lord Touhig and Lord Borwick, and two of the staff were kind enough to take a walk around with me to look at various options that had not been considered. I am saddened that, for example, Chancellor’s Court has been excluded, apparently because it would be inconvenient for contractors who might need to reconfigure some future plans they have for some temporary cabins. We found many a location where this could be done appropriately and cheaply to bring in the facility in that £50,000 range. May I just say that the contractors do not run this House? The issues of net zero are far more significant and I wonder whether the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, could take that back to the staff and ask them to approach the problem as a way to enable us to have the facility and not to think through what every obstruction might be, even if hypothetical.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, as I said, and the noble Baroness, for coming round with me and coming up with these ideas. I have seen the exchange of emails that the noble Lord has had with the principal electrical engineer. I do not want to raise hopes too high at this stage, but while there is no doubt that the ducts in their current state could not be used, I can tell the noble Lord that the complete survey that we are carrying out now will be presented to the Services Committee as a possible option, depending on the results. That is down to his efforts. I pay tribute to him, as a former member of the Services Committee, as hugely hard-working and diligent, and for the refreshing ideas that he and the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, have managed to give to this whole enterprise.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Borwick, as I said, and the noble Baroness, for coming round with me and coming up with these ideas. I have seen the exchange of emails that the noble Lord has had with the principal electrical engineer. I do not want to raise hopes too high at this stage, but while there is no doubt that the ducts in their current state could not be used, I can tell the noble Lord that the complete survey that we are carrying out now will be presented to the Services Committee as a possible option, depending on the results. That is down to his efforts. I pay tribute to him, as a former member of the Services Committee, as hugely hard-working and diligent, and for the refreshing ideas that he and the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, have managed to give to this whole enterprise.
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the recent discovery of an electrical duct directly in the middle of the Peers’ car park actually gives great hope that this problem can be solved quickly and easily?
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the demand for install electric vehicle charging points in the House of Lords car parks; what is the estimated cost of installing charging points; whether there are plans to install such charging points; and if so, when they...
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the demand for install electric vehicle charging points in the House of Lords car parks; what is the estimated cost of installing charging points; whether there are plans to install such charging points; and if so, when they...
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. A survey of all members in May 2021 identified 33 members who at that time expected they would make use of an electric vehicle charging facility for the House of Lords. Work to date has not identified a final, fully costed and value for money approach. Further work to identify, approve and set a delivery timescale for such an approach is ongoing.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services have been sourcing egg products from (1) Belgium, or (2) any other non-UK country; and what commitment they have, if any, to only sourcing eggs from British Lion producers.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services have been sourcing egg products from (1) Belgium, or (2) any other non-UK country; and what commitment they have, if any, to only sourcing eggs from British Lion producers.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The Catering and Retail Service (CRS) source pasteurised egg yolk and egg white products from Cocovite, which are manufactured in Belgium; however CRS are continually working with suppliers to find a British alternative.
The Catering and Retail Service do however source free range whole eggs which are British Lion quality stamped.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many electric car charging points there are in the House of Lords.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many electric car charging points there are in the House of Lords.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. There are currently no electric car charging points on the House of Lords estate. The Services Committee has been considering a proposal for the installation of charging points, the Clerk of the Parliaments as Accounting Officer has decided that the project does not offer value for money. The Services Committee endorsed this decision and has asked the Administration to consider alternative options for the provision of electric car charging for members.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the risk from flooding to Victoria Tower.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the risk from flooding to Victoria Tower.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The first floor of the Victoria Tower is 65 feet above ground level - emphasising its stature as the Royal Entrance - which means any flooding would only happen due to leaking pipe work at a higher level, or through the cast iron roof.
It is known that the cast iron roof is in a poor state of repair. There is water ingress from roof level, but it is not yet critical. However, if the roof is left unrepaired its condition will only deteriorate further. In addition, much of the roof drainage system is concealed within stonework, which makes precise assessment of its condition difficult without carrying out thorough intrusive surveys. These surveys would be technically difficult to carry out due to the height, location and design of building.
Water ingress is monitored and options are currently being explored to address the repair of the roof as part of the safety critical repairs to the Victoria Tower stonework.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what arrangements are available to help backbench Peers deal with correspondence.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what arrangements are available to help backbench Peers deal with correspondence.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
All external physical correspondence received by Parliament is security screened off site before being brought to the estate. Appropriate cyber-security measures are in place to protect the Parliamentary network from malicious e-mails and spam.
Members are able to specify how they wish to receive internal and external correspondence including delivery to pigeon holes, member desks or Prince’s Chamber and the option of forwarding to external addresses. Member preferences can be treated as temporary or permanent arrangements and can be varied between sitting and non-sitting days.
Internal and External mailboxes are located across the estate for members sending correspondence, with stationery available from Peers’ Lobby or Millbank House Reception on request.
There are also a number of arrangements available to help members with parliamentary business more widely, including responding to correspondence:
- Sponsorship of passes for members’ staff: members may apply for up to three passes for secretarial or research support staff.
- IT support: Digital Services available to members to help them manage their correspondence include the provision of Microsoft Office 365, which includes email and Teams (for telephony and videoconferencing), and file storage within their Parliamentary Network Accounts. One-to-one digital coaching sessions are available to members; these are tailored to suit the specific requirements of the individual member and can be used to focus on making the most of these tools. Members are also provided with an IT allowance, which, as well as an iPhone, entitles them to choose between two different devices out of a desktop, laptop, or iPad. Members are also entitled to a printer provided by PDS, and are expected to share this where they occupy an office with other members, with printer consumables provided by the Attendants’ office.
- The Library: the library offers a range of research and information services, resources and products to members in support of their parliamentary work.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker why House of Commons staff are able to bring guests into House of Lords facilities while Members of the House of Lords are currently not allowed to do so.
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker why House of Commons staff are able to bring guests into House of Lords facilities while Members of the House of Lords are currently not allowed to do so.
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. Currently access for non-passholders is limited to one guest per member or full staff passholder and those guests must have a business need. This is the same in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. Committees can bring in non-passholders as required. Catering venues in the Lords are applying usual access arrangements within the limits of these restrictions.