Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps are being taken to ensure disabled people have unimpeded access to the House of Lords areas of the Parliamentary estate during protests in and around Parliament Square.

The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.

Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.

In addition, Parliament has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.