Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to extend the Palace of Westminster controlled area created by section 143 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to include (1) the section of the A302 which forms the north side of Parliament Square, and (2) the public areas which adjoin.
Through section 76 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act 2022), the previous Government amended section 142A of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to expand the “controlled area” of the Palace of Westminster to include the vehicular access points to the Parliamentary Estate. The amendment also added obstructing the passage of a vehicle into or out of the Parliamentary Estate to the list of prohibited activities.
The aim of the amendments was to prevent the impediment of Parliamentarians’ vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate via vehicular entrances. The scope of the amendment was determined in consultation with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and other key partners. The PCSC Act 2022 will be subject to post-legislative scrutiny between April 2025 and April 2027. We will carefully consider the findings of that review and should gaps in the legislation be identified, we will seek to address them.