§ Mr. SpeakerI have a brief statement to make.
On 29th July, the hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) referred in a point 1160 of order to the access of Strangers to certain facilities of the House and asked in particular to what extent representatives of a public relations firm could use telephones or have access to the Terrace and the Strangers' Bar. He gave instances of what he regarded as abuse of Strangers' rights.
This problem has since been considered by the Services Committee, and I have accepted its advice. I am satisfied that no changes are required in the rules regarding the access of Strangers to the Terrace and so on. There is, however, a growing problem of non-compliance with these rules, and the facts mentioned by the hon. Member for Keighley may have been examples of this.
The Serjeant at Arms is, therefore, reminding all concerned of the rules and is taking steps to secure their enforcement. These measures include tighter control over the use by Strangers of the Terrace and Bar and a clearer identification of telephones which are only for the use of Members and the police.
Whilst I am sure that the House will welcome these measures, a responsibility still rests on Members to ensure that their guests do not abuse their privileges; for example, by approaching and seeking to lobby other Members on the Terrace, and by entering the Strangers' Bar in more than the authorised numbers. I have therefore authorised the Serjeant at Arms to prepare a summary of the rules for the guidance of hon. Members, and trust that the problems of last summer will not be repeated.