Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 28 May (HL7428), whether they have discussions with the National Police Chiefs' Council about (1) the number of police officers on restricted duties for non-criminal investigations, and (2) the duration that those officers are on restricted duties.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is currently considering the requirements around police suspension data, supporting the Government's commitment to strengthen the requirements on forces to suspend police officers under investigation for domestic abuse or sexual offences.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the current full weekly cost of the staff team who operate the door at Peers' Entrance, including contractual costs and VAT; and who is covering that cost.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The resources costs associated with the operation of Peers’ Entrance have been met from existing pools of staff and departmental budgets, with no additional cost to the House or to the taxpayer. The average annual cost to Parliament of a front-line security officer is around £46K including salary, pension and national insurance.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 12 June (HL Deb col 1533), whether the cost of £9.6 million for the Peers' Entrance door includes VAT and all other associated costs.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The cost of £9.6m for Peers Entrance does include VAT. This sum covers both the design, and the construction works at the Entrance.
In addition, £1,500 in maintenance cost have been incurred for call outs where operator or user error have been the cause.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 12 June (HL Deb col 1528), whether the role to oversee the commercial function as a joint department of both Houses is an additional role in the management structure; and if so what is the cost of that role.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Parliamentary Commercial Department will be led by a Chief Commercial Officer. This is a new senior role in the management structure which will be responsible for overseeing Parliament’s portfolio of contracts, developing and implementing commercial strategies, and ensuring high-performance procurement across Parliament. The post was advertised in March with an annual salary of circa £150K, in line with market expectations for a role of this seniority and complexity in the public sector. The outcome of the recruitment process will be announced as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of serving police officers in England are currently on restricted duties pending an investigation for non-criminal misconduct; and what is the average duration of time that such officers have been on restricted duties.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not currently collected or held by the Home Office, and could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the cost to Parliament of a traffic marshal supervisor on the Parliamentary estate.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The cost to Parliament of a traffic marshal supervisor on the Parliamentary Estate (working 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year) would be approximately £105K including VAT. However, actual marshalling hours vary according to operational need, and this sum is not what a traffic marshal supervisor would receive in pay.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 19 September 2023 (HL9892), when he was informed that there was more up to date information than he provided in that Answer, as set out in his Written Answer on 5 March 2024 (HL2638).
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
I was recently made aware that the answer to HL9892 on 19 September 2023 used data collected from a study in 2019 which looked at the total number of vehicles accessing and leaving the Estate from both Carriage Gates and Black Rod's Garden. This data was used as it was from a study carried out by traffic consultants prior to the COVID pandemic and helped inform the implementation of the one-way system in January 2023. The study provided an average estimate of traffic movements on the Estate of circa 3,500 vehicle movements in sitting times, compared to 2,500 vehicle movements during recess periods.
Since the implementation of the one-way system in January 2023 counting has been carried out internally, and the system was refined to provide more precise figures, rather than an estimate. This data was used to answer the written question HL2638 on 5 March 2024, to give an average of 4,052 vehicles in sitting times and 2,285 in recess, based on the data collected in the 2023 calendar year. Unfortunately, it was not identified in HL2638 that this was based on 2023 figures rather than the original 2019 data.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 28 March (HL5836), between December 2023 and March 2025, what was the percentage increase in cost to Parliament of providing a traffic marshal service working 12 hours a day, 5 days a week and 50 weeks a year.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The cost of the provision of a marshal service at one marshal point for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year has not changed between December 2023 and March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 28 March (HL5836), what was the cost in 2023 to Parliament including VAT of a traffic marshal service working 12 hours a day, 5 days a week and 50 weeks a year.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In December 2023, the cost of the provision of a marshal service at one marshal point for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year would have been approximately £75K including VAT.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 28 March (HL5836), what is the cost to Parliament including VAT of a traffic marshal service working 12 hours a day, 5 days a week and 50 weeks a year.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Further to the Written Answer on 28 March 2025 (HL5836), the cost of the provision of a marshal service at one marshal point for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year would be approximately £75K including VAT.