We will always look at suggestions. I can reassure the hon. Member that our catering team recently achieved the highest mark in the Sustainable Restaurant Association “Food Made Good” rating. One of the areas that we were assessed on was our commitment to reducing food waste, but clearly we will look at the hon. Member’s suggestions and we will act on them if they have merit.

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.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The House services have done a fantastic job in keeping the show on the road, and the Commission congratulates them on that. The Commission also recognises that many members of the House service, many colleagues and the staff of colleagues want to return to the House of Commons, their place of work, and look forward to doing so. However, the Commission also recognises that this needs to be done in as safe a way as possible, as outlined in the road map published by the Government. So the Commission will be working closely, as is always the case, with the trade unions and the representative bodies in this place to make sure that the return to work is a safe one.

The House of Commons Commission has ensured that the House Service has implemented the working safely during coronavirus guidance and is a covid-secure workplace. Measures in place are continuously reviewed to ensure they are in line with any changes in Government guidance. This is further supplemented through the expert advice received from Public Health England and the parliamentary safety team. The Commission receives regular updates from the Chair of the House Service covid-19 planning group.

There are currently no plans for the House to sit on either the 29 or 30 March. Any changes to the sitting hours of the House would need to be agreed by the House in the usual way.

The provision of Parliamentary Prayers is a matter for the House. However, many Members of all faiths appreciate the opportunity for quiet reflection before making important decisions during debates and the course of the Parliamentary day. Over recent years Parliament has made many inclusive reforms, including the creation of a multi-faith prayer room.

I thank the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues for their questions—I think electronic voting will be my specialist subject on “Mastermind”. He has come up with a new angle, and I support the point he makes. Members in the packed Division Lobby when the Government were defeated very heavily will have noticed that the congestion was significant, and there were risks associated with that.

On the back of the hon. Gentleman’s question, I will ask the authorities to look at doing a health and safety risk assessment. As he will know, and as I have stated previously, if he wants to pursue the matter—I understand that he has perhaps not yet done so—he needs to ask the Procedure Committee to look at the whole subject of electronic voting.

The Commission has had no discussions on the costs of installing an electronic voting system in the Chamber. Its responsibility in this matter is limited to the financial or staffing implications of any change to the present system, were a change agreed by the House. If the House agreed to pursue electronic working, further work by the House service in conjunction with the digital service would be needed to accurately identify the investment, planning and development required to deliver electronic voting.

Whilst the House of Commons is sitting the Serjeant at Arms (or an Associate) is positioned within the Chamber to manage any incidents which occur within it. Serjeants are supported by a team of Doorkeepers who are led by a Duty Principal Doorkeeper.

After eight minutes of a division, the entry doors to each lobby are locked by Doorkeepers, whilst the exit remains open. Doorkeepers remain with locked doors (and keys) to ensure they can be unlocked quickly if required in an emergency.

In the event of a fire (or other) evacuation, Doorkeepers will be directed to immediately unlock the doors and direct Members to evacuate by the most appropriate route – depending on the location of the incident.

Doorkeepers are first aid trained and have immediate access to equipment including first aid kits and an automated external defibrillator. Doorkeepers are also able to summon the nurse from Lower Waiting Hall.

The Serjeant at Arms is happy to discuss such procedures in detail with the hon. Member.

Whilst the House of Commons is sitting the Serjeant at Arms (or an Associate) is positioned within the Chamber to manage any incidents which occur within it. Serjeants are supported by a team of Doorkeepers who are led by a Duty Principal Doorkeeper.

After eight minutes of a division, the entry doors to each lobby are locked by Doorkeepers, whilst the exit remains open. Doorkeepers remain with locked doors (and keys) to ensure they can be unlocked quickly if required in an emergency.

In the event of a fire (or other) evacuation, Doorkeepers will be directed to immediately unlock the doors and direct Members to evacuate by the most appropriate route – depending on the location of the incident.

Doorkeepers are first aid trained and have immediate access to equipment including first aid kits and an automated external defibrillator. Doorkeepers are also able to summon the nurse from Lower Waiting Hall.

The Serjeant at Arms is happy to discuss such procedures in detail with the hon. Member.

Representations have been made through previous oral questions to the House of Commons Commission, including by the hon. Gentleman himself. He may remember that I responded in similar terms to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) in January. The Commission has given no formal consideration to a move to electronic voting in the House as part of either the restoration and renewal programme or the northern estate programme. Its responsibility in this matter is limited to any financial or staffing implications of any change to the present system were such a change to be agreed by the House.

I thank the hon. Gentleman. I suspect that, from earlier responses, he will be aware that he needs to present his ideas, in the initial stages, to the Procedure Committee for it to consider. However, there will also be an opportunity, as part of a consultation around the northern estate programme, for him to contribute, and he could contribute in advance of that by contacting Emma Wharton who is responsible for that programme and for the restoration and renewal. I am sure that she would be happy to receive his representation.

I suspect that we have not yet reached the stage of deciding whether the provision of toilets will be needed for a contingency Chamber, or, indeed, establishing whether any financial assessment has been made of the installation of electronic voting. According to figures produced in past debates, however, it appears that the cost might be up to £500,000.

The Commission has given no formal consideration to a move to electronic voting in the House. Its responsibility in this matter is limited to any financial or staffing implications of any change to the current system, were a change to be agreed by the House. The Procedure Committee, of which the hon. Gentleman has been a member since 2015, will be well placed to inquire into the matter and come up with proposals.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for those two questions. On the time it takes Members to vote, he may not be aware that back in 1997 this House did consider substantial changes to the way in which we voted, and I am afraid it voted to keep things exactly as they were. I hope that by, perhaps, early next year we will have a substantive debate in this place on the restoration and renewal issue, and that would be the appropriate opportunity for him to raise his point.

A late sitting can refer to either an occasion when the House sits beyond its likely scheduled rise (i.e. 10.30pm on Monday, 7.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 5.30pm on Thursday); or whenever the House sits beyond 10.00pm.

Two types of payments are made to staff in order to support evening sittings, including late sittings: the Unsocial Hours Payment (UHP), an annual flat-rate allowance paid across the year to staff required to work to an unspecified time during evening sittings; and the Evening Additional Hours (EAH) payment which reflects the number of additional hours worked after 6pm, paid at a standard rate from 1800 to 2230 and at a higher rate after 2230. Additionally, in certain circumstances overtime may be paid to staff which may or may not be related to the House’s sitting hours. These payments are not reflected in this answer as the records do not indicate in which circumstances they were made to support late sittings. A late night taxi service is provided to staff who are required to work late; this service is only available after 2300.

Security staff are employed by the Metropolitan Police Service and are paid in accordance with their terms and conditions of employment.

The costs of UHP, EAH and the late night taxi service in each year since 2010–11 was as follows:

* Inclusive of NI and pension contributions

It is not possible meaningfully to equate these staffing costs related to evening sittings to an average overall cost per hour of late night sittings for two reasons: firstly, costs for other types of marginal expenditure related to late sittings, such as utilities charges, are not recorded separately; secondly, the staffing costs are paid to facilitate all sittings after 6.00pm, rather than “late” sittings specifically, whether defined as after 10.00pm or beyond the likely scheduled rise.

A late sitting can refer to either an occasion when the House sits beyond its likely scheduled rise (i.e. 10.30pm on Monday, 7.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 5.30pm on Thursday); or whenever the House sits beyond 10.00pm.

Two types of payments are made to staff in order to support evening sittings, including late sittings: the Unsocial Hours Payment (UHP), an annual flat-rate allowance paid across the year to staff required to work to an unspecified time during evening sittings; and the Evening Additional Hours (EAH) payment which reflects the number of additional hours worked after 6pm, paid at a standard rate from 1800 to 2230 and at a higher rate after 2230. Additionally, in certain circumstances overtime may be paid to staff which may or may not be related to the House’s sitting hours. These payments are not reflected in this answer as the records do not indicate in which circumstances they were made to support late sittings. A late night taxi service is provided to staff who are required to work late; this service is only available after 2300.

Security staff are employed by the Metropolitan Police Service and are paid in accordance with their terms and conditions of employment.

The costs of UHP, EAH and the late night taxi service in each year since 2010–11 was as follows:

* Inclusive of NI and pension contributions

It is not possible meaningfully to equate these staffing costs related to evening sittings to an average overall cost per hour of late night sittings for two reasons: firstly, costs for other types of marginal expenditure related to late sittings, such as utilities charges, are not recorded separately; secondly, the staffing costs are paid to facilitate all sittings after 6.00pm, rather than “late” sittings specifically, whether defined as after 10.00pm or beyond the likely scheduled rise.

The House of Commons terms and conditions of employment include provision to compensate staff for working late and/or additional hours during late sittings of the House.

Staff in pay bands A–E (and some senior staff) required to work until the rise of the House or beyond are paid an Unsocial Hours Payment (UHP) for the commitment to work to an undefined time and a flat rate for each additional hour they work after 6pm once that have completed 8 hours work during that day. Staff who are not normally required to work to the rise of House or beyond, but agree to do so, may be eligible for paid overtime payments or time off in lieu (TOIL).

Staff in catering pay bands are required to work until 15 minutes after the rise of the House if they are contracted to work in venues that supply services to Members. Staff who work in these areas or volunteer to work in these areas are paid overtime for any additional hours worked.

Line managers have the discretion to agree flexibility around working hours by compensating individuals for additional hours worked by granting TOIL. Where business needs allow, TOIL can be granted to manage peaks and troughs in workloads. The extent to which TOIL is used varies between areas or roles, but is used frequently in some cases where workloads vary significantly between sitting and non-sitting periods. Work is under way to introduce a Flexible Time Management Policy.

Security staff are employed by the Metropolitan Police Service and are paid in accordance with their terms and conditions of employment.