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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Found: Following a request from Lord Hayward, the Committee considered the use and cost of traffic marshals