Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker whether the Renewal and Restoration Client Board plans to publish proposals for the provision of food for members of parliament, peers, staff and visitors in cafes and restaurants in the planned decant locations.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The R&R Client Board (the two House Commissions meeting jointly) published a report, Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals, on 5 February 2026. Chapters 4 to 6 provide preliminary information on catering proposals under the different R&R options (full decant; enhanced maintenance and improvement (two variants); and continued presence).
The Client Board has recommended that two options—the full decant and enhanced maintenance and improvement plus (EMI+) options—are taken forward for development alongside a package of phase one works.
Under the full decant option, the House of Lords would decant into the QEII Conference Centre (subject to negotiation), although there would be an ongoing need for the Southern Estate (Millbank House and Fielden House) to accommodate some Members’ offices and House business areas that do not need to be close to the temporary Chamber. In the QEII, catering would be provided for Members and staff although this would be reduced compared to the current provision. There would not be dedicated banqueting facilities. Multi-functional meeting rooms could be used to host member-sponsored events.
Under full decant, the House of Commons would decant to the Northern Estate on a phased basis. Catering provision would be reduced compared to current provision although Richmond House would accommodate a Members’ Tearoom adjacent to the Commons Chamber throughout the Programme. Catering would also be available in Portcullis House, 1 Parliament Street and Norman Shaw North. There would be no bar or banqueting facilities.
The EMI+ option has an objective to decant not more than 30% of the Palace (by usable area) at any one time. The House of Lords would decant into the QEII Conference Centre and the House of Commons, subject to the agreement of the House of Lords, would use the Lords Chamber while work was taking place on the Commons Chamber, for up to two years. Catering for the Lords in the QEII Centre would be the same as under the full decant option and there would again be an ongoing need for the Southern Estate.
Under EMI+, Commons catering facilities in the Palace would be refurbished on a zonal basis and would each be closed for several years. While these facilities are being refurbished there would be a reduction in Commons catering provision. The current catering facilities on the Northern Estate, including in Portcullis House, would remain available (except for the café in Richmond House) and new catering facilities would be available in Norman Shaw North. The only Commons catering facility within the Palace that would remain open throughout the entirety of the R&R works would be the Jubilee Café, which is accessible to the public and would be refurbished outside of standard operating hours.
These catering proposals are at a relatively early stage of development and the specifics will be subject to further consultation with Member bodies, including domestic committees.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what is the purpose and function of the scaffolding being constructed around Victoria Tower; and whether any people will work under that scaffolding.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The scaffolding currently being constructed around Victoria Tower is a “safety deck” which protects workers in the restricted access construction site from any stone fall. It replaces the previous one which was not suitable to accommodate large groundwork equipment and machinery, and will be in place to enable preparatory groundworks for the full scaffolding build to be safely carried out from later this year.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties posed by soldiers in the same platoon using different calibre weapons and ammunition.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All procurement projects look at interoperability as part of the scoping requirements. The British Army currently operates different calibre weapons within the platoon; this provides a tactical advantage in ensuring the correct weapon is available to meet requirements, whilst also balancing other factors such as logistic and human considerations.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given in Project Troubler and Project Grayburn to the decision by the US Army to standardise their rifles and light machine guns on a common 6.8-millimetre calibre.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A review of performance requirements and technical solutions is ongoing as part of the concept phase for Project GRAYBURN and Project TROUBLER. Interoperability, (including calibre) with other in service weapons, NATO and other international partners will be considered as part of this process.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the calibre of the rifle selected under Project Grayburn is the same as the calibre for the light machine gun selected under Project Troubler.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A review of performance requirements and technical solutions is ongoing as part of the concept phases for Project GRAYBURN and Project TROUBLER. Interoperability, (including calibre) with other in service weapons will be considered as part of this process. Commonality across users in the British Army is important but must be informed by the individual user requirements of each project, which includes consideration of NATO and wider international interoperability.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Department for Transport’s report, Road Safety Strategy on 7 January, what steps they are taking to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035 and a 70% reduction in the number of children (under 16) killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain by 2035, using a 2022-2024 baseline. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to improve road and vehicle design, protect vulnerable road users, and review motoring offences. All of this will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport.
Road safety is a shared responsibility, and this strategy reflects that. It considers action needed by government, local authorities, industry, emergency services and communities to tackle the causes of collisions and save lives. By investing in infrastructure, education, and enforcement, we are taking decisive steps to make our roads safer for everyone.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of Network Rail’s treatment of timber waste.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is achieving high rates of reuse and recycling across all waste types. Timber sleepers are graded and either reused on the railway, sold on for reuse, or disposed of for recovery. Pallets are reused where possible or disposed of for recycling or recovery along with other wood waste such as fence posts.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Network Rail vegetation management review, published in October 2018, what criteria are used to approve temporary variations for vegetation management from Network Rail standards for vegetation management.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The review and potential approval for temporary variations to any of Network Rail’s standards is undertaken by a competent person (such as the standard owner or a delegated authority). The risk mitigation of the non-compliance needs to clearly be provided along with timescales on when the applicant will become compliant to the standards. The applications are at local levels and can vary. Since the October 2018 review, Network Rail has improved vegetation management training, updated the vegetation standards and deployed technology to allow it to measure compliance of the vegetation profile. This has resulted in the temporary variations being annulled and alignment to the latest version of the standard.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to table amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to enable private prosecutions of shop thieves.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We would encourage retailers to report all instances of shop theft to the police. We have no plans to include an amendment to enable private prosecutions of shop thieves to the Bill. Shops and retailers can currently make their own decision to bring private prosecutions against shop thieves if they have the needed evidence.
However, we are repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of vegetation clearance carried out by Network Rail under temporary variations on Network Rail’s biodiversity commitments.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government has not made an assessment of the impact of vegetation clearance carried out by Network Rail under temporary variations on Network Rail’s biodiversity commitments. Any work carried out by Network Rail under temporary variation against the vegetation standard, would still be following its biodiversity standard. Network Rail is committed to increasing biodiversity across its estate, but vegetation management is still necessary to maintain a safe and efficient railway.