The House of Commons complies with UK legislative standards when procuring food and drinks from suppliers. Its procurement approach supports and where possible prioritises the purchase of food and drink produced in Britain. For example:

• The Strangers’ Bar offers Members the opportunity to request that a specific cask ale from an independent, regional brewer from their constituency be offered for sale.
• As much as possible, most fresh products purchased by Catering Services are sourced within the UK. This includes meat, poultry, dairy, bread, eggs and most fruit and vegetables (when in season). Bought-in sandwiches use British chicken and cheese boards feature only British cheese. Milk is sourced locally from a British dairy.
• There is a mandatory inclusion of wines from England and Wales on wine lists.
• Speciality cakes and dairy ice cream are only UK-made.
• Bottled water is from British source.
• Promotional activity in catering outlets highlights British food by showcasing a rolling programme of regional goods.

Certain regulations, such as the Government’s Procurement Policy Note of December 2020 and increased use of the UK-based Catering Framework, have allowed for additional freedom for spend on goods and services below certain price thresholds. Within the limits of these regulations, the House where possible seeks to hold competitions which only target producers within the UK.

The headcount of (a) the House of Commons (i) in total is 3,470 and (ii) in full-time equivalent roles, including PDS, is 3,013.

(b) Two bicameral teams sit within the House of Lords Administration. The headcount of the two teams (the Parliamentary Archives and Parliamentary Commercial Directorate) is: (i) 78, and number of full time equivalent roles is: (ii) 76.4. These figures are inclusive of three full-time secondments.

The costs of maintenance work on the Estate in each financial year since 2019–20, and the estimate of maintenance costs for the next two financial years are as follows:

2019/20 (Actual Cost): £89m

2020/21 (Actual Cost): £76.5m

2021/22 (Actual Cost): £63.2m

2022/23 (Actual Cost): £96m

2023/24 (Forecast Cost): £79.6m

2024/25 (Forecast Cost): £78.7m

2025/26 (Forecast Cost): £95.1m

The performance of the current telephony system is not good enough and is falling short of reasonable expectation. The Parliamentary Digital Service is working hard with our suppliers and technology partners to bring the level of service up to an acceptable standard. A new solution has been procured and will be implemented later this year. I apologise to the right hon. Member and all colleagues for the inconvenience they are experiencing.

The House of Commons Commission takes food waste extremely seriously. We work with organisations, such as FareShare, to use unused food and distribute it, but we also take food that is not eaten on one day and safely use it in other recipes on another day.

To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to reduce food waste on the parliamentary estate.

We have probably all been to events and occasions here where the hosts have perhaps enthusiastically over-ordered. It would be useful to be assured that none of that food goes to landfill and that ways are found to reuse it. These days there are a number of initiatives and apps where venues and stores can make food available at discounted prices at the end of the day. Could that be something that could be extended to staff—obviously not to Members—particularly those who work late on the estate, so that absolutely no food in this place goes to waste?

In 2021–2022 there was no spend on lanyards.

In 2022–2023, in support of LGBT+ people in Parliament, the House Administration approved a request from ParliOut to spend £380 for 500 rainbow lanyards. ParliOut is the workplace equality network (WEN) for LGBT+ people in Parliament.

In 2023–2024, in support of LGBT+ people in Parliament, the Administration approved expenditure from ParliOut of £1,639 on 1,500 rainbow/progressive flag lanyards. In support of disabled people in Parliament, the Administration approved expenditure from ParliAble of £475 on purple lanyards bearing the ParliAble logo. ParliAble is the workplace equality network for disabled people in Parliament.

As the networks are bicameral, their expenditure is split 70% by the House of Commons and 30% by the House of Lords.

The lanyards are not solely for House of Commons staff. They are worn by any interested passholders, including Members of both Houses and their staff, staff of both Houses, contractors, etc.

All staff of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS), wherever they work, must carry out their duties and deliver services with complete political impartiality, and must be seen to do so. The wearing of pins or badges which express a personal view on a politically controversial issue would not therefore be appropriate in the workplace. Guidance for House of Commons and PDS staff on political impartiality, which was updated in 2022, can be found in Part 5 of the House of Commons Staff Handbook.

A repair is scheduled in the week commencing 26 February 2024. A component in the lift needs replacing and it has been difficult to source. This lift is due for refurbishment in spring 2025 under the lift refurbishment programme.

In the last six months, £920,101 (plus VAT) has been spent on traffic marshals. This figure includes use of traffic marshals to manage the movement of traffic and/or pedestrians (a) in the Palace and along the spine road, (b) in and out of the underground car park, and (c) on laundry road in the Northern Estate. The underground car park currently requires 24/7 marshal cover to support the closure of one of the ramps into the car park, so the cost also includes unsociable working hours, bank holidays and weekends.

This does not include costs where it has not been possible to extrapolate the cost of marshal provision from the overall contract for works.

The figures below reflect the spend on traffic marshals for each financial year (April to March) from 2019 to 2024.

The figures include use of traffic marshals to manage the movement of traffic and/or pedestrians (a) in the Palace and along the spine road, (b) in and out of the underground car park, and (c) on laundry road in the Northern Estate. The figures are all excluding VAT.

The figures below do not include costs where it has not been possible to extrapolate the cost of marshal provision from the overall contract for works.

Financial years 2019 to 2023

2019–2020 £176,069

2020–2021 £199,471

2021–2022 £257,534

2022–2023 £598,534

Financial year 2023–2024

The costs for the 2023–2024 financial year are not comparable to the previous years.

Prior to 2023–24 the cost of the traffic marshals for the underground car park, required to facilitate the works in New Palace Yard, was covered by the contractor, as part of the project costs, and not included above. These costs are now covered by the House directly as efficiencies had been identified.

The underground car park requires 24/7 cover due to the closure of one of the ramps into the car park necessary to facilitate the works in the New Palace Yard. The costs include unsociable working hours, bank holidays and weekends.

For the 2023–2024 financial year, the cost for traffic marshals, excluding underground car park marshals, is forecast to be £647,763.

For the same period, the cost for the underground car park marshals is forecast to be £1,271,966.

To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will take steps to increase purchases of Australian wine for sale in the House of Commons.

As part of a dispute over covid, China imposed particularly punishing tariffs on Australian wine, damaging that industry. May I urge the House of Commons Commission to stand with our Australian friends and allies, and prioritise buying Australian wine and encouraging its use in our venues to make it clear that bullying does not pay?

The wine sold in the House of Commons is reviewed annually, with the next review due in the spring of 2024. The right hon. Gentleman’s question specifically relates to Australian wine; I understand that a Chardonnay and a Shiraz are available, compared with three English wines, so Australian wine is represented on the wine list in the Palace of Westminster.

The House Service manages a contract with Banner for the provision of both general and bespoke stationery for Members and staff of both Houses. It monitors Banner’s service through regular performance meetings and by reviewing performance metrics provided by Banner. The contract includes a dedicated account manager and a customer care hotline.

Members can purchase stationery from other providers. The contract with Banner enables them to charge any purchases from Banner to their IPSA funded account.

The contract with Banner was procured from the Cabinet Office’s agency, Crown Commercial Service (CCS), during 2021 and will be due for re-tendering during 2024.

In my capacity as a Commissioner, I shall make representations to the House Administration asking that it looks at Banner’s service delivery, when the House returns from the Christmas recess.

In the past three years a total of 11,182 plumbing incidents have been reported across the Parliamentary estate:

• 2021 – 2,345 incidents
• 2022 – 3,626 incidents
• 2023 – 5,211 incidents

We have had multiple issues with toilets in Portcullis House due to the quality of the water in the system. To address this, new equipment, including a filtration system, was installed in Autumn 2023. An initial fault with this system was rectified by mid-November. A longer-term solution to improve the water quality is being planned by the Strategic Estates team.

In the past three years 2,002 mechanical incidents relating to lifts across the Parliamentary estate have been reported.

• 15/12/2020–14/12/2021: 465
• 15/12/2021–14/12/2022: 636
• 15/12/2021–14/12/2023: 901

A lift refurbishment programme commenced in 2020 which aims to improve reliability and decrease unplanned downtime through mechanical upgrades. More than 60 lifts are being refurbished during a six-year phased approach programme. These lifts are situated within the Palace of Westminster, Portcullis House, and two outbuildings not on the main estate. The programme is due to end in 2026.

A pest control expert is based on-site. The pest control team monitor and take steps to manage pests on the Parliamentary estate.

In the past three years a total of 1,180 requests for pest control have been made and the number for each year are given below:

• 15/12/2020–14/12/2021: 227
• 15/12/2021–14/12/2022: 412
• 15/12/2021–14/12/2023: 541

Parliament does not rate its IT systems according to the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework provided by the Central Digital and Data Office.

Priority One of Parliament’s Digital Strategy 2022–25 is ensuring that its digital services are flexible, secure and resilient, and Priority 3 of the Strategy is to make digital more sustainable and scalable by updating our operating models and identifying opportunities to improve ways of working. One of the ways Parliament supports these priorities is by managing its legacy technology burden and risk.