Oral Answers to Questions

Frank Doran Excerpts

Thursday 7th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

1. If the Commission will establish a Members’ consultation group for the work on the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

[Mr Frank Doran (Aberdeen North)]

I shall answer for the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso).

Last year the House of Commons Commission invited the right hon. Member for Saffron Walden (Sir Alan Haselhurst) and my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) to join two Members of the House of Lords as an informal consultation group for the pre-feasibility study on the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster. That group is not a decision-making body; its purpose is to ensure that the programme team has a good understanding of the range of Members’ views and requirements, and that that is reflected in the final formal proposals.

[Pauline Latham]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. I am not sure whether he said that there are Members of the House of Commons on that advisory body, as I could not quite hear. If there are not, would it be possible to include them? I have strong opinions on this issue as, I am sure, do many other Members of the House. I would like an assurance that the House will be consulted and kept up to date on progress.

[Mr Doran]

There are already two Members of the House of Commons on the informal committee, and there may be a third. There are currently three Members of the House of Lords. The hon. Lady is right and it is crucial that Members are kept advised. That will be done through the normal channels, and all relevant committees will be advised. If she is interested—I know her commitment to this issue—and would like to meet the project manager, that would be perfectly possible.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What is the latest estimate for the cost of restoring and renewing the Palace of Westminster? If the cheapest and quickest option is to close the place down and do it in one go, is that a route the hon. Gentleman would be kind enough to advance?

[Mr Doran]

I am sorry I did not catch the question, but no decisions have been made except to appoint advisers and consultants who will advise on the options. Those options will be considered in the next Parliament, and the final decision will be taken by both Houses. There will be an immense amount of consultation and, of course, interest from Members of both Houses.

The Leader of the House was asked—

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

6. If he will make a comparative assessment of the service provided by (a) Nexis news service currently in use in the House of Commons and (b) Factiva news service; and if he will make a statement.

[Mr Frank Doran (Aberdeen North)]

The Nexis and Factiva services, along with the online news services offered by the bidders, were assessed as part of the open procurement process carried out in 2011. The position will be reassessed in 2015, when a decision will be required on whether to extend the current contract for a further two years or retender the service

[Michael Fabricant]

We really do need to have this issue reconsidered. When we changed from the Factiva to the Nexis service, we found that some newspapers were being reported on three days late and that we were not getting any reports from, among other newspapers, The Sun, The Times or The Sunday Times, whereas Factiva was comprehensive in its coverage. The House of Commons and the taxpayer could save money by dumping Nexis now because it provides an inadequate service for Members of Parliament. Please let us have Factiva back. At least it works.

[Mr Doran]

In the current economic climate, we have to look for value for money, and when the contract was tended, the difference between the bids, which was substantial, amounted to a £500,000 saving over the life of the contract. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, however; there is a real issue with News International newspapers not being available on the service, although the Library continues to negotiate with News International. He will also be aware that some members of the Library have individual subscriptions, and these can be accessed.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

7. If the Commission will take steps to enable hon. Members to receive in their Commons offices live regional BBC and other regional television news programmes covering constituencies outside London and the south-east in place of Sky Sports channels.

[Mr Frank Doran (Aberdeen North) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend has been dogged in her efforts to get her local BBC news shown here, and I am delighted to tell her that work to expand and modernise the Annunciator service is currently under way with the intention of switching to a digital service, following the national digital switchover, to ensure compatibility with television services such as subtitles. The upgrade will also provide the opportunity to develop the service, and it is proposed that the channels available be expanded to include all regional BBC 1 channels, whose broadcasts include regional news programmes, and some key international channels.

[Diana Johnson]

At the moment, our constituents have to pay £50 a month to get Sky Sports beamed into their own homes, otherwise they have to go down the pub, so I am not sure why we have it beamed into all our offices on the parliamentary estate. I am pleased that we are finally dealing with the need of MPs with constituencies outside London and the south-east to have access to our regional TV news programmes, but when will this actually happen?

[Mr Doran]

On the last point, we hope that the service will be provided next year. On the other point, Sky Sports is provided free by Sky, so we do not actually pay for it, but all my hon. Friend’s other points will be dealt with.

The Leader of the House was asked—