§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give a breakdown by company of the numbers and categories of security passes giving access to the Palace of Westminster and its associated buildings which are currently allocated to the media.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee is currently examining the number of Palace of Westminster photo-identity passes held by the media organisations accredited to the House.
In the course of its inquiry, the Sub-Committee has asked for the same information as that requested by the hon. Member. It is currently being collated, and I will ensure that the hon. Member receives a copy as soon as it is available.
334Wapplications, including responses by local authorities to the application, in the Library; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 6 December 1989]: An application under section 12 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 for the designation of Bradford district was received from the City of Bradford metropolitan council by my Department on 27 November 1989.
The application is made on the grounds that in all the circumstances it is not necessary or expedient to make any further provision for the accommodation of gipsies residing in or resorting to the area of Bradford metropolitan district.
A list of the local authorities, and others, consulted by Bradford council about the application and the substance of their responses is as follows:
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give a breakdown of the numbers and categories of security passes giving access to the Palace of Westminster and its associated buildings which are currently allocated to individuals who are not in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office; and if he will indicate the reasons for the allocation of these passes.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweWithout a detailed check of each photo-identity pass holder's name against the Fees Office salary list, which could be done only at disproportionate cost, it is not possible to provide a definitive answer to the hon. Member's question. However, it would be safe to assume that all or the vast majority of the following pass holders are not in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office:
335W
Category Detail Quantity 10 Members and Officers; 511 Residents' families 11 Official Commonwealth and Overseas visitors 3 16 CPA and IPU Staffs 46 17 and 17A Government Departmental Staff 1,443 18 Government Messengers 234 19 and 19A PSA's staff 403
Category Detail Quantity 20 and 20A Security Force (incl. RBLA) 473 21 and 21A Post Office Staff 42 22 and 22A British Telecom Staff 79 23 and 23A Parliamentary Counsel and Agents 120 24 and 24A Tannoy/Official Shorthand Writer/ 71 Westminster Audio and Thomas Cook 25 and 25A Central Office/PLP/Liberal Democrats/ 107 SDP and SNP staffs 26 PSA's Contractors 543 27 Other Contractors and St. Stephens Secretarial Staff 136 28A Lobby Correspondents 228 28B Reporters 130 28C Broadcasting Journalists 52 28D Overseas Media Representatives 19 28E Media Messengers and Engineers 183 28G and H Television Experiment Staff 28 30 Specially Authorised Holders 56 31 Television Personnel (Norman Shaw 29 Studios only) 31A Gymnasium Members (Norman Shaw 126 Buildings only) 32 Whips' Office Staff 49 33 and 33A HMSO and COI Staff 155 E MEPs 33 In addition to the above, those categories of pass issued to peers, peeresses and their staffs, staff of the House of Lords, and House of Lords sponsored media passes are, of course, not paid from the Fees Office—a total of 1,427 passes.
Finally, I should mention that some staff of Members, who hold category 9 photo-identity passes, may not be in receipt of a regular monthly payment from the Fees Office.