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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

1541502

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2022
	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	Speaker's Counsel: Operating 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 of operating the Office of Speaker’s Counsel was in the most recent year for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Clwyd West
	tabling member printed	Mr David Jones
	uin	84826
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2022 answer text <p>The spend on the Office of Speaker’s Counsel for the financial year 2021/22 was £1.85m. The Office of Speaker’s Counsel provides legal advice to the Speaker, the Clerk and all departments of the House of Commons, as well as managing all litigation involving the Commission, the Corporate Officer or the Speaker. It also provides advice to Select Committees of the House.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 18/11/2022 08:46:03 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 34977 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1502 label Biography information for Mr David Jones

1565201

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2023
	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	Queen Elizabeth II: Death
	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 was the total cost of Operation Marquee; from which sources that funding was obtained; whether any other scheme or programme budgets have been detrimentally affected by the cost of Operation Marquee; what assessment he has made of the scope and delivery of Operation Marquee; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
	tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
	uin	118859
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>The total cost of Operation Marquee for the House of Commons is still being determined. We will proactively publish this figure alongside details of the costs incurred.</p><p>The House of Commons finance and information compliance teams are working alongside the respective teams in the House of Lords to ensure aligned and complete publications of costs.</p><p>The cost of Operation Marquee has been funded from the House of Commons 2022–23 Estimate. The House has not required additional funding from HM Treasury to cover the cost of Operation Marquee.</p><p>Team budgets, including programme budgets, were not reduced in order to fund Operation Marquee. Costs incurred by Teams in relation to Operation Marquee were funded by requests from central contingency and managed by the finance team.</p><p>The feedback from Members and the public was that Operation Marquee was successfully delivered and the Commission recognises the crucial part played by the House service in that process.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 16/01/2023 16:08:43 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 46499 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

1579625

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2023
	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: Air Conditioning
	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 much has been spent on air filtration systems on the Parliamentary estate in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	129887
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2023 answer text <p>Air filtration systems are maintained as part of a wider contract and the information cannot be provided at this level of detail. In 2022/23 to date £15,777.43 has been spent on parts relating to air filtration systems.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 30/01/2023 15:04:17 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 50790 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1601920

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2023
	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: Local Broadcasting
	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, whether the Commission is taking steps to increase access to BBC regional channels on the parliamentary estate television network.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	160219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2023 answer text <p>BBC regional channels are now only transmitted in High Definition (HD) after Standard Definition (SD) transmission was withdrawn in February. Work to update the television system on the Parliamentary Estate to allow for the transmission of additional HD channels is planned for Easter and will restore access to BBC Regional Channels.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 14/03/2023 17:38:16 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 61560 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1463616

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2022
	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	Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance
	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, if the Commission will make an assessment of the number of surveys planned during the (a) Summer and (b) Conference recesses in connection with maintenance work on the Palace of Westminster.
	tabling member constituency	South Northamptonshire
	tabling member printed	Andrea Leadsom
	uin	3579
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2022 answer text <p>There is planned activity for over 23 projects in the Palace of Westminster during the Summer recess, and there will also be planned maintenance and reactive maintenance work. Many activities will continue in the Conference recess.</p><p>Teams will carry out surveys prior to and during the Summer and Conference recesses; surveys are required before any work can commence.</p><p>Surveys will range from visual checking of spaces (for example, identifying cable routes, or taking audits of equipment/assets) to more intrusive work, such as digging as part of ground investigations, or putting up scaffold to conduct a stonework survey.</p><p>Survey work for the recesses is still being finalised, and individual projects might identify the need for more surveys after work commences. For this reason, it would be difficult to put a figure on the number of surveys in the Palace over the Summer and Conference recesses, but it is likely to be over a hundred.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 23/05/2022 18:38:17 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom

1463982

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2022
	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	House of Commons Library
	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 assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons.
	tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
	tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
	uin	4720
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2022 answer text <p>The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.</p><p>The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.</p><p>The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.</p><p>The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.</p><p>The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker grouped question UIN 4721 question first answered 26/05/2022 16:26:11 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1463983

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2022
	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	House of Commons Library
	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, whether the Commission plans to take steps in response to discussions on the potential merits of decolonising the House of Commons Library.
	tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
	tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
	uin	4721
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2022 answer text <p>The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.</p><p>The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.</p><p>The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.</p><p>The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.</p><p>The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker grouped question UIN 4720 question first answered 26/05/2022 16:26:11 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1464391

	registered interest
	date	19/05/2022
	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	House of Commons Library
	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 assessment the Commission has made of the potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons.
	tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
	tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
	uin	5518
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2022 answer text <p>The Commission has not carried out an assessment of potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons. It notes that the Library has been undertaking work to review and increase the diversity of its collection since August 2020 and that while it has engaged in knowledge exchange with institutions in the academic sector that are seeking to decolonise their curricula and library collections, it has not adopted this as an approach to its own work.</p><p>The Commission has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of decolonisation of the Library on the representation of Parliament’s history. However, it understands that the Library’s work on the diversity of its collection is guided by the framework set out in its Collection Development Policy which identifies the criteria used for acquisition, retention and deselection of material. The purpose of the work is to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. It has not changed the core focus of the collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, politics and government or its commitment to curate this as an enduring collection of national importance. It also has a clear commitment to impartiality in its work.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker grouped question UIN 5519 question first answered 26/05/2022 16:31:36 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1464393

	registered interest
	date	19/05/2022
	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	House of Commons Library
	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 assessment the Commission has made of the potential impact of the decolonisation of the House of Commons Library on the representation of Parliament's history.
	tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
	tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
	uin	5519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2022 answer text <p>The Commission has not carried out an assessment of potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons. It notes that the Library has been undertaking work to review and increase the diversity of its collection since August 2020 and that while it has engaged in knowledge exchange with institutions in the academic sector that are seeking to decolonise their curricula and library collections, it has not adopted this as an approach to its own work.</p><p>The Commission has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of decolonisation of the Library on the representation of Parliament’s history. However, it understands that the Library’s work on the diversity of its collection is guided by the framework set out in its Collection Development Policy which identifies the criteria used for acquisition, retention and deselection of material. The purpose of the work is to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. It has not changed the core focus of the collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, politics and government or its commitment to curate this as an enduring collection of national importance. It also has a clear commitment to impartiality in its work.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker grouped question UIN 5518 question first answered 26/05/2022 16:31:36 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford