§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on the implementation of the review of doorkeepers' responsibilities; and if the Commission will carry out a review of hours worked by doorkeepers.
§ Mr. BeithThe House of Commons Commission approved the recommendations of the Board of Management on the report of the staff inspector on the Doorkeeper grades on 9 December 1991. The recommendations did not cover doorkeepers' responsibilities as such, although they did propose changes concerning their manning levels. Subsequently detailed discussions were held between management and trade union representatives and agreement was reached on the implementation of the staff inspector's review.
The agreement included a reduction in manning levels, to be achieved by natural wastage over a period of time. I understand this has still some way to go. It also made provision for close monitoring of the working hours of doorkeepers, particularly if and when the House sat very late on frequent occasions. The Commission has asked the Serjeant to keep working patterns of doorkeepers under review, and has received no representations from him that the manning reductions are not working satisfactorily. Until the full implementation of the recommended reductions has been achieved, it does not seem appropriate to carry out a further review.