Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker who is responsible for the current arrangements at Peers’ Entrance; and what assessment he has made of the impact and cost of recent changes at the Entrance to Peers’ access to the Palace.

The Peers Entrance project was delivered as part of Parliament’s Security Construction Programme.

The delivery of the infrastructure within the Security Construction Programme is led by Strategic Estates. A Senior Responsible Owner within Strategic Estates is ultimately accountable for the delivery of the programme. This is the Strategic Estates Portfolio Director.

The Director of Security for Parliament is the Executive Sponsor for the Security Construction Programme and is accountable for setting the requirements and assuring the achievement of the benefits for Parliament.

Both the Executive Sponsor and the Senior Responsible Owner are appointed by the Accounting Officers – the Clerk of the Parliaments for the House of Lords and the Clerk of the House for the House of Commons.

The total costs of the works at Peers Entrance were £9.6million. There have unfortunately been defects with the operation of the entrance and the costs of these have been covered as part of our supply contracts for the works. £1,500 in maintenance costs have been incurred for call outs where operator or user error have been the cause.

The House Administration together with the Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates are undertaking urgent work with operational staff and with our contractors to address and resolve the ongoing issues with the Peers Entrance.