Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the food offered in the House of Lords Bishop’s Bar prior to October 2019, particularly the customised items prepared by the chef, complied with the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive’s Approved Code of Practice and Guidance Safe work in confined spaces, published in 2014.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee to respond to these questions on his behalf.

Under the definition in the Approved Code of Practice, the Bishops’ Bar would not be considered a “confined space”, a term which should not be confused with a small space. When the Services Committee considered the required changes to the Bishops’ Bar in July, it accepted that the Administration had a duty of care towards staff working in the outlet and that the current conditions for food preparation were unsuitable.

We have no record of any incidents of food poisoning as a result of food consumed from the House of Lords Bishops’ Bar between 2009 and October 2019.

The Services Committee has no plans to review the methodology used by the food safety auditors who evaluated the Bishops’ Bar.