Question

To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate has been made of the total cost of the Tour Guides Project proposed to commence in October 2018.

The forecast cost of running the project’s selected new model to provide an estimated 8,850 guided tours of Parliament per year (comprising approximately 4,500 free ‘Democratic Access’ tours to constituents, 3,800 paid-for commercial tours on Saturdays and during recess, and 550 paid-for tours for attendees of banqueting events) is £3,159,745 over a five year period between 2018/19 and 2022/23. This includes an initial upfront investment of £180,000 in 2018/19 to set up the new model. By comparison, the cost of continuing to run the existing model (where the same number of tours would be provided by a mixture of outsourcing to a private provider and relying on a pool of casual workers with no guaranteed work) was forecast to cost £802,420 more over the same period.

In addition to delivering financial savings, the new model will also deliver significant improvements in Parliament’s control over the quality, consistency and diversity of our tours and visitor engagement services through in-sourcing and investing in the professional development of our guides.