Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker which officials initiated, approved and signed-off on the new security barrier on the West Front of the House of Lords and which members of the House were consulted on the design.

The need for an improved security perimeter along the West Front of the Palace of Westminster was identified by the independent review of Parliament’s security, undertaken by Sir John Murphy following the Westminster Bridge terror attack and murder of PC Keith Palmer in March 2017.

The projects business case was brought forward as part of the Security Programme, led by the Director of Parliamentary Security and was approved at Parliament’s Investment Committee, and by the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House of Commons in their roles as Accounting Officers.

The House of Lords Commission considered the plans as they developed, in November 2023 and in May 2024, prior to the award of the contract for the manufacture and install of the fence. Alongside more general quarterly updates, the House of Lords Services Committee were consulted on the plans in May 2024.

Five drop-in events for Peers on the Abingdon Street fence were held between July 2024 and May 2025.