Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what arrangements are available to help backbench Peers deal with correspondence.

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

All external physical correspondence received by Parliament is security screened off site before being brought to the estate. Appropriate cyber-security measures are in place to protect the Parliamentary network from malicious e-mails and spam.

Members are able to specify how they wish to receive internal and external correspondence including delivery to pigeon holes, member desks or Prince’s Chamber and the option of forwarding to external addresses. Member preferences can be treated as temporary or permanent arrangements and can be varied between sitting and non-sitting days.

Internal and External mailboxes are located across the estate for members sending correspondence, with stationery available from Peers’ Lobby or Millbank House Reception on request.

There are also a number of arrangements available to help members with parliamentary business more widely, including responding to correspondence:

• Sponsorship of passes for members’ staff: members may apply for up to three passes for secretarial or research support staff.
• IT support: Digital Services available to members to help them manage their correspondence include the provision of Microsoft Office 365, which includes email and Teams (for telephony and videoconferencing), and file storage within their Parliamentary Network Accounts. One-to-one digital coaching sessions are available to members; these are tailored to suit the specific requirements of the individual member and can be used to focus on making the most of these tools. Members are also provided with an IT allowance, which, as well as an iPhone, entitles them to choose between two different devices out of a desktop, laptop, or iPad. Members are also entitled to a printer provided by PDS, and are expected to share this where they occupy an office with other members, with printer consumables provided by the Attendants’ office.
• The Library: the library offers a range of research and information services, resources and products to members in support of their parliamentary work.