Question

To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the House of Commons Commission is taking to protect the safety of all Parliamentary staff from covid-19.

The House of Commons Commission has ensured that the House Service has implemented the working safely during coronavirus guidance to ensure we remain a Covid-secure workplace.

At every stage of the Government roadmap, or when updated guidance has been published, the Parliamentary Covid risk assessment has been reviewed and updated to ensure the appropriate mitigations are put in place. The latest version of the risk assessment was published in the last week, incorporating Government guidance on ‘how to stay safe and help prevent the spread from 19 July’ and the sector specific guidance published on the 14th July.

The risk assessment has been made available to all and can be found at

https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/transparency-publications--hoc-transparency-publications/health-and-safety/hop-v1-hop-covid-risk-assessment-issued.pdf

To complement the Parliamentary Covid risk assessment the individual risk assessment tool has been in use since November 2020, to allow the House Service to identify those at higher risk and ensure appropriate measures are in place.