The Parliamentary Education Centre welcomes 80,000 UK schoolchildren annually for a tour of the Palace of Westminster, a lesson tailored to the curriculum and, whenever possible, an opportunity to meet their Member of Parliament.

The temporary planning and licence agreements for the current site of the Education Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens are due to expire at the end of 2030. In October 2026, the Administration Committee is expected to consider options related to continued provision of the Education Centre’s services during the period prior to the commencement of R&R in order to inform a decision by the House of Commons Commission in the following months.

The longer-term location and proposal for the Education Centre is dependent on the decision by the Houses on the way forward for the Restoration & Renewal (R&R) Programme. Parliamentary debates are expected following the publication of the R&R Client Board’s costed proposals report (HC Paper 1576) earlier this year.

The Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) recognises the important role that digital tools, including casework management platforms, play in supporting Members and their staff in serving constituents effectively.

Many such tools require integration with Parliamentary IT services, including email and other systems. This integration must be managed carefully to protect Parliamentary and constituent data and maintain the security of Parliamentary systems.

Access is currently available to only a limited number of suppliers, reflecting arrangements that were established to meet operational needs at the time.

As the market for casework management tools has evolved, PDS is actively working to enable secure integration arrangements in a way that supports Member choice and creates a level playing field for suppliers. This includes trialling the technology that would facilitate this integration, as well as developing minimum standards for suppliers in areas such as cyber and information security.

The House Administration keeps its approach under review and is engaging with Members, their staff and suppliers to ensure the appropriate balance between security, functionality and competition.

Under current rules the House Authorities would object to an attempt to register a company or charity using a title which associates it with Parliament. There are no clear routes to objecting to names which have been registered under the previous rules, such as in the case of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.

Yes. A small number of cloud services used by the Parliamentary Digital Service make use of data centres outside the United Kingdom.

Parliament’s policy is to host and process its data in the United Kingdom wherever practicable. Where a provider does not offer a United Kingdom location, the European Union is used as the preferred alternative, and only a very small number of services operate outside both. These arrangements are kept under review and services are moved to United Kingdom hosting where suitable options become available. It would not be appropriate to identify individual services or the specific locations at which their data is held, as to do so could prejudice the security of Parliament’s networks and data.

The Parliamentary Digital Service does not hold the information requested in a form that would allow a reliable percentage to be provided for either part of the question.

The software records held by the Parliamentary Digital Service include applications and components installed across Parliament’s devices, including device drivers, utilities and multiple versions of the same product. Calculating a percentage from these records would therefore not provide a meaningful measure of the software on which Parliament relies.

Software is recorded by product and licence rather than by the location of the supplier. Much of it is purchased through resellers and government commercial frameworks, and the supplier recorded for a product may therefore differ from its publisher. Establishing whether each relevant supplier or publisher is UK-based would require a separate examination of the records and could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

As set out in the answer of 13 July 2026, the Parliamentary Digital Service makes extensive use of open source software, particularly in bespoke procedural systems. Open source solutions are generally preferred where appropriate and subject to licensing requirements. Work to modernise and rationalise Parliament’s application estate is expected to improve the quality of the information held over time.

The requirements for registering interests and information that has to be supplied is set out in Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules.

The Commissioner has issued an Advice Note on the transparency of registrations in response to questions raised by Members of Parliament. That Advice Note can be accessed here: advice-note-2023.01.11-2---transparency-of-registration.pdf

The AI feature assists staff in identifying duplicate questions by finding and listing questions which have been submitted previously where there is 80% or greater level of similarity. The Table Office reports that it is a helpful tool to support staff in identifying identical or near identical text duplicates. Pre-existing tools such as Parliamentary Search continue to be used to support the identification of duplicate questions. In any case, staff are responsible for reviewing the questions to assess whether the rules of order relating to questions already answered are engaged. The Table Office is happy to demonstrate the tool to Members who are interested in it.

The Electoral Commission provides authoritative advice on the permissibility of donors.

The following paragraphs of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules provide advice on the registration of interests received in the 12 months before a Members’ election and on the permissibility of donors.

1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:

Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.

2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.

Permissible donors

19. Members must not accept any donations, loans, security or other support valued at over £500 from impermissible donors. They must also report them to the Electoral Commission within 30 days of receipt. The following are permissible donors:

• an individual registered in a UK electoral register (or a bequest from such an individual);
• a UK registered company which is incorporated within the EU and carries on business in the UK;
• a Great Britain registered political party;
• a UK registered trade union;
• a UK registered building society;
• a UK registered limited liability partnership that carries on business in the UK;
• a UK registered friendly society;
• a UK based unincorporated association that carries on business or other activities in the UK.

20. In addition, certain trusts may be permissible as donors, but not as lenders or providers of security or credit. Local councils are not permissible donors or lenders.

23. Before accepting any benefit over £500 which would require registration in this category (including a credit facility or a loan which exceeds £500 in value), Members are required to satisfy themselves that it is from a permissible donor, and to notify the Electoral Commission within 30 days of any impermissible donations.

The parliamentary pass system does not hold data for the number of passes granted to new applicants each year. We do hold some data breaking down the number of new applications processed for the past two years, of which only a very small proportion are refused. The application numbers also include some who require security clearance but do not need a pass to enter the estate ('clearance only' applications). It is not possible to disaggregate 'clearance only' or rejected applications from the data.

These figures are not grouped exactly as per the request, and the raw data is not retained in this format. These figures do not include day passes, renewals or replacements.

The parliamentary pass system is a live database providing a current snapshot of data. It does not store historical information. Therefore, we are unable to extract the information as requested.

From 2020, the pass office kept some manual records of active pass numbers in groups. These are not grouped exactly as per the question, and the raw data was not retained to be able to retrospectively regroup this information. These numbers do not include day passes for MPs’ staff whose security clearance application indicated a requirement to attend Parliament on an occasional basis.

The requirement to register donations in the 12 months before they are elected is set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules:

1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:

Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.

2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.

The rules on registering donations (Category 2) are set out in paragraphs 15 to 20 of Chapter 1.

The decision to redact the names of staff Members in the Register of Interests of Members’ Staff is a matter for the Committee on Standards. The decision is set out in the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2024–26 (HC 1629).

The Commission is expecting completion of the essential maintenance works affecting T-Block during November 2026. It is not currently possible to confirm a specific date for restoration of access, as completion remains dependent on the outcome of ongoing design reviews, survey findings and any further asbestos remediation requirements. Members will be kept informed as the programme progresses.

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what training the House of Commons provides to hon. Members on responding to domestic and sexual abuse casework.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important topic, and it is great that she has good local services. I have already outlined the training and guidance we currently have on offer. The Commission is keen to ensure that Members are well supported in this area and is open to suggestions to develop the training offer. I will ask officials to get in touch with my hon. Friend.

As Members of Parliament, we regularly support vulnerable women and girls who have experienced sexual abuse, sexual violence, rape, stalking, coercive behaviour and other forms of violence. These can be some of the most complex and sensitive cases, requiring knowledge of legal frameworks, safeguarding and trauma to safely support individuals in traumatising circumstances. I am extremely grateful to be able to lean on the expert guidance of SERICC, our fantastic local rape and sexual abuse service in Essex, but not all Members’ offices are as fortunate. What guidance does the House of Commons provide to Members specifically on responding to rape and sexual abuse casework, and is there scope to provide more specialist and trauma-informed training?

The House of Commons Administration provides a variety of training for Members and their staff to help them respond to domestic and sexual abuse casework, which includes a day-long training course on dealing with cases of domestic abuse, human resources sessions on domestic abuse awareness and an e-learning module on safeguarding. The training courses equip participants with the knowledge and confidence to recognise signs, respond accordingly and provide access to support and resources.

The total number of annual sitting hours for Westminster Hall debates vary with the last four parliamentary sessions below:

• 2021–22 666 (12-month Session)
• 2022–23 949 (18-month Session)
• 2023–24 415 (6-month Session)
• 2024–26 1,297 (21-month Session)

The estimate below is based on the direct cost of facilitating Westminster Hall during sitting hours. In addition members of staff on duty in Westminster Hall will be on rotas and have other responsibilities which account for the majority of their time. Staffing numbers have been estimated below for a typical sitting week of 16 hours across 39 weeks.

In some cases, there will be additional time required outside of the sittings themselves, for example Senior Doorkeepers need additional time to set up, and it takes Parliamentary reporters approximately 45 minutes to transcribe each five minutes of debate. The broadcast operator and microphone operator costs are covered by the broader broadcasting contract, which make it difficult to give a true cost and these figures are therefore estimates based on known half day rates.

The estimated number of weekly hours from each of the following roles has been listed in the table below. These do not represent individual postholders, but instead the total number of hours that would be completed by several people all on rotas. As an example, there are 22 Clerks on a fortnightly rota, so each individual completes an average slot of only 80 minutes once per fortnight, and this forms only a small part of their substantive role.

On that basis annual staffing costs could be estimated at £440k. Indirect costs, not included above include building costs, printing, security and IT provision.

All MPs are offered security measures at their homes and offices, and security operatives for constituency surgeries.

To ensure the continued security of Members, the Commission does not comment on the take-up of security provisions by individual MPs.

In supporting the work of Parliament, the Parliamentary Digital Service makes extensive use of open source software, and in particular in bespoke procedural systems. Where appropriate and subject to licensing requirements, open source solutions are generally preferred. We also seek to ensure that systems remain portable across hosting platforms and avoid unnecessary dependence on proprietary technologies.