New Inquiry - Visitor Access and Facilities
14 June 2011
The Administration Committee is to carry out an inquiry into the access and facilities provided for visitors to the House of Commons, including those attending debates or meeting MPs, tourists, schoolchildren and others.
The Committee wants to consider how open the Parliament is to visitors, how welcoming it is, and what could be done to improve what’s on offer to the million or more people who visit it annually.
The Committee intends to review progress in implementation of the recommendations of its 2005 report Improving Facilities for Educational Visitors to Parliament and make recommendations to:
- Streamline the visitor route for tours, improve facilities for visitors (especially in and around Westminster Hall) and make short term improvements in capacity for education and other visitors
- Find ways to realise the agreed plan for an education centre providing for 100,000 education visits (which would also provide new spaces that would benefit Members and other visitors)
- Increase income and consider opportunities for new sources of funding to safeguard the fabric of the Palace of Westminster
- Explore longer term options for better use of the parliamentary estate and the area around Parliament to engage visitors.
The Committee invites any individual or organisation to write to the Clerk of the Administration Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, by Monday 18 July 2011.
Individuals or organisations are requested to write (guideline length up to 2,000 words) in a Word-compatible file by e-mail to ac@parliament.uk with a single hard copy in the post.
Submissions must clearly state who is the author is and whether they write as an individual or for an organisation.
Written evidence submitted to the Committee should be kept confidential until the Committee has published it.
Further information
Committee Membership is as follows:
- Sir Alan Haselhurst (Chair), Conservative
- Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative
- Rosie Cooper, Labour
- Thomas Docherty, Labour
- Mr Mark Francois, Conservative
- Mr Kevan Jones, Labour
- Dr Phillip Lee, Conservative
- Nigel Mills, Conservative
- Tessa Munt, Liberal Democrat
- Sarah Newton, Conservative
- Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat
- Angela Smith, Labour
- Mr John Spellar, Labour
- Mr Shailesh Vara, Conservative
- Mr Dave Watts, Labour
- Mike Weatherley, Conservative
Media Enquiries: Committee Media Officer: Liz Parratt, email: parrattl@parliament.uk, tel: 07917 488978
Committee Website: www.parliament.uk/ac
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