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1133249

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Members' Staff: General Practitioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether Members' staff can (a) register with and (b) access an on-site medical doctor.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	266763
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>Members’ staff cannot register with nor access an on-site medical doctor as there are none on-site. There are occupational health physicians who work within the Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service (PHWS) via a contract with Guys and St Thomas’ hospital. Managers can refer their staff to PHWS for advice and support if they feel that their health is being affected by their work. Members of Parliament can seek occupational health advice for their staff via the Members HR advisory service.</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 02/07/2019 16:19:30 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 125150 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1127135

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Palace of Westminster: Industrial Health and Safety
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, on how many occasions falling debris has been recorded at the Palace of Westminster in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	255343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p>There have been eight recorded stone falls at the Palace of Westminster over the last 12 months. No injuries were sustained.</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 23/05/2019 15:54:19 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 119456 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1126139

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Parliamentary Estate: Waste
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent estimate the Commission has made of the amount of food waste produced by the kitchens on the parliamentary estate.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	253486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Management information from Parliament’s waste contractor demonstrates that between April 2018 to April 2019, Parliament generated 235,595 kgs of food waste. This represents a 12% reduction from 2017/18 when 266,749 kgs of food waste was generated. Food waste from prepared dishes in Commons catering outlets is approximately 3% against sales, well below the national industry average (5%).</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 21/05/2019 17:58:33 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 118569 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1126140

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Parliamentary Estate: Waste Management
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to reduce the amount of food waste produced by the kitchens on the parliamentary estate.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	253487
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The House of Commons has implemented a variety of initiatives to reduce the amount of food waste. The only food which is disposed of consists of products that are not safe to be consumed, following guidance from, for example, the Catering Services’ Food Safety Policy and in relation to use-by dates.</p><p>Measures taken to monitor and reduce food waste from our catering venues includes:</p><ul><li>Menu plans and cycles are used which enables orders to be planned in advance;</li></ul><ul><li>Most dishes are made fresh in-house, which allows for improvisation if products need to be used up, and enables short life products to be used in smoothies, soups and salads;</li></ul><ul><li>Stock is regularly counted, and order volumes consider the level of stock-in-hand;</li></ul><ul><li>Dates are checked regularly on ambient food products and any short life products are issued to the kitchens for immediate use;</li></ul><ul><li>Many of the high-volume protein items are ordered by unit (rather than weight) which makes portion control more accurate and reduces the likelihood of over ordering;</li></ul><ul><li>Venue orders are checked by a purchasing team for accuracy, to ensure that orders and volumes are correct and in-line with historic figures;</li></ul><ul><li>The kitchens make salad items in-house, meaning venues can cook-off and utilise any surplus protein products effectively;</li></ul><ul><li>Stock is always rotated using ‘first-in, first-out’ principles;</li></ul><ul><li>Various smart storage methods and materials are used to help prevent premature spoilage;</li></ul><ul><li>Some products are frozen if not used on the day;</li></ul><ul><li>Products which show high levels of wastage are changed (for example, some high frequency/low volume lines are now frozen which enables portion control);</li></ul><ul><li>Any hot food which is re-usable is transferred immediately to where it can be sold (or blast chilled within food safety requirements and used the following day).<br></li></ul><p><br>The Sustainable Restaurant Association has rated the House of Commons as a good practice organisation in respect of food waste.</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 21/05/2019 18:06:47 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 118570 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138849

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Members' Staff: Conditions of Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans the Commission has to improve the working conditions for Members' staff.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	277112
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2019 answer text <p>Members’ staff are regularly consulted on service issues by House authorities. These consultations include regular meetings between House staff and MPs’ staff representative bodies, and invitations to focus groups to feed into service design. A sample of Members’ staff have also recently been surveyed on how effective the services provided by the House are for them. There is also an annual meeting between House staff and MPs’ staff bodies (specifically Members and Peers Staff Association and Unite) at which service issues can be raised.</p><p>More recently, the House of Commons Commission has discussed the Gemma White review, and it welcomed the broad thrust of the recommendations made, which included better HR services for Members’ staff and how the sense of isolation that they feel can be addressed. They have asked the House Administration to carry out further work to examine the practical steps that can be taken in response to it.</p><p>Terms and conditions of service for Members’ staff fall within the remit of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 24/07/2019 12:25:47 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 129857 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1133757

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	House of Commons: Security
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reasons security officers in the House of Commons are entitled to a break of two hours and 15 minutes in each eight hour shift; and what assessment the Commission has made of the comparative value for money of such contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Shrewsbury and Atcham
	tabling member printed	Daniel Kawczynski
	uin	267363
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>House Staff are paid for working hours only, i.e. 36 hours net per week for full time staff. In accordance to their contracts, full-time staff have a one hour unpaid break each day / shift. The rest of the breaks received by the Security staff, which are over and above their contractual arrangements, are a legacy carried over from the Metropolitan Police working practices since 2016. The House is currently in discussion with the union about the introduction of a new roster and rest breaks.</p> answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake question first answered 02/07/2019 16:32:45 answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake previous answer version 125231 answering member constituency Carshalton and Wallington answering member printed Tom Brake answering member 151 label Biography information for Tom Brake
	tabling member	1566 label Biography information for Daniel Kawczynski

1170507

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Big Ben: Festivals and Special Occasions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost was of Big Ben chiming on (a) Remembrance Sunday 2019 and (b) New Year's Eve 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Rayleigh and Wickford
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Francois
	uin	2442
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2020 answer text <p>The costs associated with striking Big Ben on Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve in 2019 were £14.2k including VAT <ins class="ministerial">in total.</ins> <del class="ministerial">on each occasion.</del></p><p>The striking of Big Ben on these occasions was coordinated around the planned works so as to minimise the impact on the project costs and to ensure it did not result in any delay. If the project team are required to strike the bell with less notice, the costs would substantially increase due to the unexpected impact on the project schedule.</p> answering member constituency Mole Valley answering member printed Sir Paul Beresford question first answered 16/01/2020 20:09:42 question first ministerially corrected 19/02/2020 08:40:44 answering member 103 label Biography information for Sir Paul Beresford previous answer version 1393 answering member constituency Mole Valley answering member printed Sir Paul Beresford answering member 103 label Biography information for Sir Paul Beresford
	tabling member	1444 label Biography information for Mr Mark Francois

1462610

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2022
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	Opening of Parliament: Costs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost to the House administration has been in (a) preparing and conducting the State Opening of Parliament and (b) providing officials with ceremonial garments for the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	1111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>The main costs incurred for State Opening relate to maintenance works to support areas such as broadcasting and digital, as well as the installation works for the Royal Gallery, Robing Room, House of Lords Chamber and other areas. Costs are incurred for labour, both directly employed and specialist contractors, as well as transportation for items held in storage off site and the works required to the security barriers around St Stephens entrance.</p><p>Costs are split between the House of Commons, who pay 60%, and the House of Lords, who pay 40%. The table shows the House of Commons share for the last five years. Data for May 2022 is not yet available. In 2018 and 2020 there was no State Opening, while there were two in 2019.</p><p /> <p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><em>£, House of Commons share</em></p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>2021</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Staff salaries</p></td><td><p>25,216</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>33,516</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>18,740</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other staff costs</p></td><td><p>224</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>309</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Direct works</p></td><td><p>125,545</p></td><td><p>4,374</p></td><td><p>320,090</p></td><td><p>-594</p></td><td><p>107,628</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other</p></td><td><p>10,341</p></td><td><p>11,050</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>10,622</p></td><td><p>10,710</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total (House of Commons)</p></td><td><p>161,326</p></td><td><p>15,424</p></td><td><p>353,606</p></td><td><p>10,028</p></td><td><p>137,387</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br>Other minor identifiable costs for the House of Commons not related to maintenance for State Opening in 2022 are shown in the table below.</p><p /> <p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Security pass provision (Commons share of 70%): £2,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>British Sign Language provision and audio description: £1,400</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br>Ceremonial dress is purchased for roles in the House of Commons when needed during the year or when postholders change. Data on ceremonial uniform costs cannot be separated from other uniform spending.</p><p /> <p>Chamber related teams, including Clerks, the Speaker and their office, the Serjeant and their team of doorkeepers, require uniform supplies throughout the year. Total uniform expenditure for these functions over the last five years is shown below. Most of this spend relates to uniform for day to day use during the normal business of the House as well as supporting events and work outside the Chamber.</p><p /> <p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019/20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021/22</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Uniform expenditure (Clerks, Speaker team, Serjeant team)</p></td><td><p>£17,824</p></td><td><p>£13,403</p></td><td><p>£25,607</p></td><td><p>£25,197</p></td><td><p>£23,285</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This answer does not represent the full cost of State Opening, or costs directly incurred by the House of Lords. Costs will also have been incurred by other bodies, which may include Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Household.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 20/05/2022 12:32:46 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 816 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1401812

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2022
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	House of Commons: Dismissal
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the Commission's policy is on the use of non-disclosure agreements as part of employment severance agreements.
	tabling member constituency	Basingstoke
	tabling member printed	Mrs Maria Miller
	uin	101660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2022 answer text <p>The House of Commons does not include a non-disclosure clause as standard in severance (settlement) agreements with employees. The House hasn’t included them as standard since 2015, and has not used any since 2018, but there is not a blanket policy in place preventing the House from using one in appropriate circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 19/01/2022 16:04:16 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 43498 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1480 label Biography information for Dame Maria Miller

1401813

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2022
	answering body	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept id	18
	answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
	answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
	hansard heading	House of Commons: Dismissal
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many House of Commons employment severance agreements included the use of a non-disclosure agreement in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Basingstoke
	tabling member printed	Mrs Maria Miller
	uin	101661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>The House’s approach to the use of NDA clauses follows the 2015 Cabinet Office Guidance on Settlement Agreements, Special Severance Payments and Confidentiality Clauses on Termination of Employment. Since January 2015, it was decided that NDA clauses should no longer be included as a matter of course. Each case is considered on its merits.</p><p>The figures for each of the last five years are:</p><p>2021 – nil</p><p>2020 – nil</p><p>2019 – nil</p><p>2018 – 2 agreements with NDAs</p><p>2017 – 6 agreements with NDAs</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 14:29:32 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 43499 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1480 label Biography information for Dame Maria Miller