Question

To ask the Rt. Hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2662, if he will extend the provision of the induction loop system to ensure people who have hearing loss or who are deaf can follow proceedings in all meeting rooms using a personal loop inducted into that system.

Following the hon. Member’s questions of 15 and 22 June, officials in the Department of Facilities have worked with the House of Commons audio-visual (AV) contractor to establish the costs and viability of extending the existing infra-red loop system to those meeting rooms on the Estate that do not currently have this facility. The work to install this facility in an additional twenty-one rooms across the Estate is planned to take place during the Conference Recess and be in place when the House returns in October.

An additional twenty-one rooms will be fitted with the infra-red loop system at a cost of approximately £31k. The rooms concerned are:

• Portcullis House : Rooms M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T and U
• Norman Shaw North: Ground Floor Interview Room
• Parliament St: Rooms A,B,C and D
• Millbank House: Archbishop’s Room
• 7 Millbank: Conference Room E and Room 11
• The Palace of Westminster: Conference Room H
• Tothill St: Rooms G01, G02 and G03