Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many members of both Houses who have not yet accepted the Restoration and Renewal Programme’s invitation to visit the Palace of Westminster basement would need to visit on average on every anticipated sitting day before the end of October in order for all parliamentarians to have undertaken such a visit before the presentation of fully costed proposals which are expected by the end of the year; and what steps are being taken to encourage parliamentarians to visit.

The R&R Programme offers tours of the Palace of Westminster, starting in Royal Court and including the medieval Cloister Court and the basement, for members, staff of both Houses, and members’ staff. Attendees are provided with an insight into the work already being undertaken to maintain the Palace as well as an understanding of the future works needed and the challenges facing the Palace.

Of the current members of either House, 193 members have been on a Palace R&R tour. There are an estimated 85 sitting days before the end of October in which at least one of the Houses is sitting. This would mean an average of 15.1 members would need to take a tour on every anticipated sitting day before the end of October for all parliamentarians to have undertaken a tour (the number of Lords members is based on those eligible to attend proceedings as of 10 April 2025). Given the basement is a working space, there are restrictions on access and tours are timed to avoid the busiest operational periods.

The tours have been publicised by various means in the current Parliament, including through the other engagement fora that the Programme uses to engage with parliamentarians. Tours have been advertised on internal communication channels such as ParliNet, Red Benches, PeerHub and offered in-person at R&R engagement stands (for example, in the 1 Millbank House Library and Portcullis House), at the Lords Members’ Fair, and during 1-to-1 R&R briefings with members of both Houses and others in the parliamentary community. To target new members specifically, the tours were advertised by e-mail to new members of the House of Lords and leaflets offering tours and briefings were available in the communal workspaces used by newly elected MPs. In addition, the Chair and Deputy Chair of the R&R Programme Board e-mailed all MPs and Lords in January 2025 inviting them to engage with the Programme and I also recommended the tour to noble Lords in my opening speech in the parliamentary debate in January 2025 on the R&R annual progress report.

Tours are only one way in which the R&R Programme engages with parliamentarians. The R&R Client Team has held engagement stalls in prominent places such as Portcullis House, offered and held 1-to-1 briefings with members, appeared at committees and party groups, and provided information about R&R on ParliNet and in leaflets. As part of its interactions with members, the team also regularly checks that its engagement channels are working for members and explains how to obtain further information about the Programme.