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.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

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.

Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the justification for the difference in style and design between the steel bars on the West Front of the House of Lords and the bars surrounding the House of Commons.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Where possible, the newly installed fence along the West Front of the Palace of Westminster has been designed to be sympathetic to the existing fences while also meeting different and specific requirements. The primary driver of the difference is that the fence along the West Front has been designed to be completely removeable to accommodate the variety of access needs to Old Palace Yard. To achieve this, the fence posts had to be mounted onto the existing bi-steel barriers which make up the vehicle access (Corus) lane in Old Palace Yard. This meant it was not possible to match exactly the fence at Cromwell Green.

Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what plans he has to replace the kerb adjacent to Peers' Entrance with a dropped kerb and whether any reason has been given for not doing so.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The design of the pavements and kerbs adjacent to Peers' Entrance is compliant with the accessibility requirements of UK Building Regulations. While no final decision has been taken on making changes to the current design, it will need to take into account Health and Safety, disruption, cost as well as accessibility considerations. Strategic Estates and the Director of Facilities are considering this matter.

Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, before the approval of the security barrier installed along the West Front, what assessment was made of the ability of armed police officers guarding entrances along the West Front to have an unobscured view of Abingdon Street.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The design of the Abingdon Street fence components was undertaken to carefully balance security requirements and heritage considerations, whilst maintaining necessary lines of sight for the security personnel working in this area, including at nearby entrances.

Officials from the House consulted the Metropolitan Police throughout the risk assessment, design and installation phases of the project. The fence has been installed with the support of the Metropolitan Police, including consultation with tactical advisers specialising in firearms, public order and Counter Terrorism.

Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker for how many days the disabled entrance door at Peers' Entrance has been out of action; and whether he is seeking compensation from the installers of the door for its failure and the additional cost of security personnel to activate the automatic mechanism.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Since it first opened in December 2024, the accessible pod at Peers’ Entrance has been out of action (requiring Peers to be diverted to an alternative accessible entry point) for 3 whole sitting days.

The resources associated with the operation of Peers’ Entrance have been met from existing departmental budgets, with no additional cost to the House or to the taxpayer.

The House Administration will need to consider corrective action or damages under the terms of our contracts for the works. These discussions are live and I am therefore not in a position to comment on the ongoing commercial and legal matters.

I know that the House Administration acknowledges the difficulties that have emerged and are urgently working on a permanent solution to resolve the ongoing issues.

Found: LORD BLENCATHRA 12_ After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Removal of peers with a criminal

Found: LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Removal of peers with a criminal

Found: LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Removal of peers with a criminal

Found: LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Removal of peers with a criminal

Found: (4 meetings) Tony Juniper (Chair) 6/6 n/a n/a n/a n/a Marian Spain 6/6 6/6 4/4 n/a n/a Lord Blencathra