The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary moved to the Supreme Court in 2009. Since then, the Library has purchased 1,298 volumes of law reports in total, with 446 volumes held in the vicinity of the offices on the Law Lords’ corridor. The cost of all volumes since 2009 is not recorded. The total spend for the current year on volumes stored in that corridor is £3,143. The Library holds the legal collection for both Houses of Parliament, and law reports are an essential part of a law library. The law reports are stored in a number of locations, including on the Law Lords’ corridor, to enable timely retrieval. There are currently no plans to move or sell the law reports. Subscriptions to law reports are reviewed at the point of renewal, and where volumes are deaccessioned from the collection they are offered to other libraries.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. Key stakeholders including the Clerks, both Speakers and the Chief Whips were advised that a full evacuation of the Palace of Westminster, including both Chambers while sitting, was necessary to test processes under realistic conditions and to assess the effectiveness of existing fire evacuation arrangements. The advice reflected a requirement identified by the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate following an inspection in November 2024 that a full test of the Palace’s evacuation procedures should be undertaken at a busy time and occupancy. Previous drills had taken place on a non-sitting day, when only minimal numbers of staff, members and visitors were present.

The exercise was intended to respond to the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate recommendation, familiarise Members and staff with evacuation procedures, test arrangements for disabled and other vulnerable people, evaluate the effectiveness of training and fire safety systems, and identify any lessons to strengthen future emergency preparedness.

Westminster City Council, Transport for London and the Greater London Authority are constructing a new cycleway on Millbank and Abingdon Street to replace the existing cycle lane. Black Rod’s Department and the House of Lords Estates team have been fully engaged with the external delivery team to ensure parliamentary access, security, ceremonial and safety issues are fully understood, and continue to make clear that the safety of Peers, Parliamentary staff and visitors is paramount. Cyclists are required to obey traffic signals, including pedestrian crossings, and enforcement of such offences is primarily a matter for the Metropolitan Police. Westminster City Council and Transport for London will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police to monitor the operation of the new cycle facilities, support compliance through design and signage, and consider targeted enforcement where appropriate. The scheme will be kept under review following implementation to ensure it operates safely for all users.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. It is understood that there are currently 14 Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in place for members of the House of Lords. The nature of the exercise means it is not possible to identify whether and how every PEEP holder participated in it.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The House of Commons was fully involved in the evacuation drill. For the purposes of evacuation, the Parliamentary Estate is treated as a single zone. Accordingly, the House of Commons Chamber was also evacuated during a debate.

The London Fire Brigade was informed in advance of the exercise. Its control room was notified and remained in contact throughout the drill. The local Borough Commander and the Station Commander from Soho were also informed. A representative from the London Fire Brigade's Risk Management Team attended and observed the exercise in order to provide feedback. In addition, the Chief Inspector from the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate attended to observe the evacuation.

The evacuation took a total of 15 minutes from commencement of the exercise until all members of the public and staff, excluding security personnel and designated observers, had left the building.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The evacuation was a pre-planned fire evacuation exercise. The drill had been approved by the relevant senior stakeholders, including the Lord Speaker, the Clerk of the Parliaments, Black Rod's Department and the party Chief Whips. The Services Committee had not been informed of the drill in advance, but had supported the initiative in previous discussions.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The evacuation was a pre-planned fire evacuation exercise. The drill had been approved by the relevant senior stakeholders, including the Lord Speaker, the Clerk of the Parliaments, Black Rod's Department and the party Chief Whips. The Services Committee had not been informed of the drill in advance, but had supported the initiative in previous discussions.

The contract with Churchill Cleaning is jointly held with the House of Commons. Parliament has outsourced the majority of its cleaning services for more than 15 years for operational efficiency and financial reasons. It is for our contractor to explain the reasons for its employment decisions. However, the House Administrations have made clear their concerns to Churchill Cleaning about the pace and scale of the proposed changes and have received assurances regarding continued delivery to contractual standards. Our cleaners are highly valued members of our community and we are emphasising this to Churchill Cleaning in our discussions with them.

Employment decisions are the responsibility of our contractor. However, the House Administrations have made clear their concerns to Churchill Cleaning about the pace and scale of the proposed changes and have received assurances regarding continued delivery to contractual standards. Our cleaners are highly valued members of our community and we are emphasising this to Churchill Cleaning in our discussions with them.

The House of Lords sessional Journal is the formal record of proceedings of the House, based upon the daily Minutes of Proceedings. For technical reasons it has not been possible to publish Journal volumes since 2017, but work to establish the capability to generate those volumes has been underway since 2024, with the support of the Parliamentary Digital Service. That work is now approaching completion, and the Journal Office expects to publish the 2017-2019 and 2019 Journals before the end of 2026. Other volumes will follow once the content has been checked and finalised, including in due course the 2024-2026 Journal.

Although the Journal for 2024-2026 is not yet available, the data that will appear in the Journal can be accessed in other ways. The daily Minutes of Proceedings are available at https://lordsbusiness.parliament.uk/; House of Lords division lists are available at https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/lords; and members’ attendance data is routinely published as part of the Finance Department’s publication of information relating to members’ claims for daily attendance allowances and travel costs (see https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/members-allowances/house-of-lords/holallowances/).

Grand Committee debates are printed and published daily in Hansard as part of a separate document and are eventually included in the Bound Volumes. They are produced to the same timelines and standards

The Administration and Works Committee (the precursor to the Services Committee) decided in December 2012 that the daily reports of proceedings in the Chamber and in Grand Committee, and of written answers and statements, should be printed separately. This decision was taken to reflect member demand for the Grand Committee daily report which is typically around a third the demand for the Chamber daily report and to reduce cost and paper wastage.

This approach to printing Hansard has continues to reflect member demand & deliver significant savings to the House, as well as wider environmental benefits.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. As of 29 June, following its official launch on 19 May, 14 members have visited the Digital Coaching Hub for advice or to request one-to-one coaching. The service provides informal, expert, hands-on support on a range of topics, including on artificial intelligence, parliamentary digital tools, cyber security, accessibility features, telephony, and inbox management.

The launch followed a successful six-week trial in the Salisbury Room prior to the Christmas recess, during which 179 interactions were recorded. While the service was well received, feedback indicated that the location was not suitable. Consequently, Room 27 (First Floor, West Front) was established as the permanent hub. A sustained programme of targeted communications is planned to build awareness, increase engagement, and support future demand for the service. This will be rolled out in the Autumn.

Parliament’s maintenance team, PMST, holds critical spares on the estate designed to meet the most frequent issues faced in maintaining an effective lift service across the estate. PMST will also recycle spares from refurbished lifts to reuse however, where obsolete or bespoke parts require replacement, this can cause delay.

The present lift programme is introducing new lift machinery which, where possible, is using standardised ‘off the shelf’ parts. The maintenance team will also hold an extensive stock of critical spares. Both measures will help reduce delays in the event of failures.

The causes of false fire alarms in the Palace of Westminster in the last two months have been system faults, fumes or smoke, and dust. The main source of fumes or smoke has been from cooking. All alarms are investigated and where necessary maintenance or other remedial action is taken.

The statue May Flights of Angels sing thee to thy Rest by Eleanor Crook was commissioned and approved by the Lord Speaker’s Advisory Panel on Works of Art, with consultation and additional approval sought from other stakeholders, including the Royal Household. The Panel considered the aesthetic and operational impact of the sculpture in its eventual position, including other artworks in the area, and viewed the site to ensure conformity with its surroundings. The artist conducted extensive research to match the style of the sculpture to elements of the building fabric.

Essential works to lift HOP12 as part of the overall lift refurbishment programme are expected to last until the summer recess.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. There are 822 manual fire alarm call points across the Palace of Westminster. In addition, there are 65 emergency voice communication points to enable assistance to be requested during an evacuation. There are several hundred emergency fire exit signs across the Palace. These comprise both free‑standing and fixed signage. A single definitive total is not held centrally.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The most recent full fire practice evacuation of the Palace of Westminster took place on 19 May 2025, before either House began its sitting. Approximately 1,300 people were evacuated safely and the exercise was completed within a short period, with limited disruption. The evacuation was reviewed by the relevant fire safety teams, and a minor issue relating to the audibility of the fire alarm in certain areas was identified and addressed.

It has been confirmed by an independent assessment undertaken by an accessibility specialist that the Peers' Entrance provides an accessible step free access into the Palace of Westminster in accordance with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and relevant Building Regulations.