Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his remarks on 8 February (HL Deb col 1740), what are the 8 'near misses' referred to, broken down by (1) date, (2) time, and (3) location; and how many of those incidents involved pedestrians.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Two of the eight near misses referred to involved pedestrians. All of the near misses demonstrate the inherent risk in a mixed-use occupied estate, where it is not possible to segregate pedestrians and traffic, and the importance of a range of mitigations to that risk, including the use, where appropriate, the use of traffic marshals.
Please see the attached table for date, time, and location of the near misses.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his remarks on 8 February (HL Deb col 1740), whether he has had discussions with the Finance Committee over any possible review of the costs and process of managing the traffic marshals on the parliamentary estate.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Finance Committee considered the use and cost of traffic marshals on the parliamentary estate at its meeting in February. Once agreed, the minutes of that discussion will be available on the Committee’s website.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of whether the requirement for traffic marshals on the parliamentary estate, which was recommended in the risk assessment as a way to deal with “what can cause people real harm”, means that any near miss involving a vehicle, building or other stationary object is not covered by that recommendation.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Health and Safety Executive advises that near misses should not be ignored or treated lightly, as they can provide valuable insight into how well you are managing health and safety in your workplace. All the reported near misses (including those that involve a vehicle, building or other stationary object) have the potential to cause injury or ill health to drivers, those in the vicinity of the incident, or through the creation of another hazard. Their continued occurrence shows the inherent risk of relatively high volumes of construction and other traffic in a mixed-use occupied estate and the importance of a range of mitigations to that risk, including the use where appropriate of traffic marshals.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his remarks on 8 February (HL Deb col 1740), whether any of the 'near misses' referred to occurred within 30 metres of a marshal on duty; and if so, how many marshals would have been within that approximate distance at the time.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The eight near misses I referred to on 8 February (HL Deb col 1740) did not occur within 30 metres of a marshal on duty, with half occurring outside the working hours of the marshals. The near misses demonstrate the inherent risk in a mixed-use occupied estate, even during quieter times of the day or night. They highlight the importance of a range of mitigations to that risk, including the use, where appropriate, the use of traffic marshals.
Please see the attached table for further information.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration he has given to the need for traffic marshals on the parliamentary estate during (1) the Easter recess, (2) the summer recess, and (3) the General Election period.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The number of traffic marshals is reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure we have sufficient cover to support ongoing projects. Estate-based colleagues remain on site during most recesses, and it is common for construction work to be undertaken more intensely during recess than in sitting times. In addition, Strategic Estates would consider any opportunity to reduce numbers, for example from 22 December to 2 January 2023 when there were no traffic marshals on the Estate.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 19 September 2023 (HL9892), what assessment he has made of the accuracy of those figures.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The answer given on 19 September 2023 (HL9892) of circa 3,500 vehicles per week in sitting times and 2,500 in recess reflects the rough average of vehicle movements. As more information has been collected by Strategic Estates, the accuracy of the vehicle movement recording has improved and the more up to date figures give an average of 4,052 vehicles in sitting times and 2,285 in recess.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when in 2022 officials first received counsel’s opinion from the Electoral Commission in relation to voter secrecy under the Representation of the People Act 1983.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Officials first received counsel’s advice from the Electoral Commission on 26 August 2022, and a follow-up opinion on 29 September 2022.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether he has calculated any change in the number of pedestrians crossing the internal spine road within the Westminster estate between (1) sitting, and (2) recess, weekdays.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Pedestrian movements are monitored at the point of access and when leaving the estate, therefore no such calculations have been made. Pedestrian usage on the estate more widely remains broadly consistent between sitting and recess periods, and vehicle traffic reduces by around 30% in recess. The requirement to maintain the safety of users of and visitors to the estate in all locations does not change.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the annual cost to Parliament of each traffic marshal on the Westminster estate.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Strategic Estates procures traffic marshal support for Parliament via a public sector procurement framework. It contracts for a service rather than paying individual marshals directly. It is therefore not possible to identify accurately the cost of individual marshals.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether traffic marshals were first employed on the Westminster estate because a specific safety risk was identified; and if so, what alternative forms of mitigation were considered and what cost was identified in relation to each alternative.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The nature of the estate means that full segregation of works traffic from pedestrian routes is not possible, unless large sections of the estate were closed during construction works. As outlined in the response to QWAs HL5748 and HL9893, the current need for traffic marshals on the estate is a result of construction work underway as part of the New Palace Yard Security project. This means that the safety benefits of traffic marshals cannot be achieved by other means. As corporate officers, the Clerks of both Houses are legally responsible for the safety of members, staff and visitors on the estate. The need for marshals has been identified through risk assessments, up to date guidance from the Health and Safety executive, and construction industry best practice.