HC Deb 13 March 1991 vol 187 cc620-2W
Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 25 February,Official Report, column 372, about consideration of the possible leasing of 7 Millbank, London SW1, how many rooms are available; when will the offices be available; what length of lease will be sought; and whether any office furniture will be included in any deal.

Mr. MacGregor

The agents' details indicate that No. 7 Millbank, which provides some 130,000 sq ft of accommodation, will become available at various dates later this year.

The other matters are primarily for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment who, I understand, still has a number of properties under consideration to meet the House's needs for accommodation.

Mr. Harris

To ask the Lord President of the Council what action is being taken to seek the views of hon. Members on the accommodation to be provided in the next phase of the new parliamentary building.

Mr. MacGregor

The chairman of the New Building Sub-Committee, the hon. Member for Ogmore (Mr. Powell), wrote to all right hon. and hon. Members on 12 December 1990 seeking their views. The letter is repeated hereto for the convenience of Members who might wish to comment now. The views of the 1922 Committee, parliamentary Labour party and other political parties represented in the House were also sought.

On the basis of the views received so far, together with papers from Departments of the House and others, the Parliamentary Works Office has prepared for discussion purposes a draft brief and a diagometric layout of the new building. These will be on display in Committee Room 7 on Thursday, 21 March from 11 am to 5 pm to provide hon. Members with the opportunity to comment on the emerging proposals.

The Services Committee hopes to report its decisions to the House shortly after the Easter recess.

Dear Colleague, The New Building Sub-Committee of the Services Committee is drawing up a design brief for Phase 2 of the new parliamentary building. Phase 2 will involve redeveloping the site currently occupied by Palace Chambers, Nos. 1 and 2 Bridge Street, and St. Stephen's House. The Sub-Committee is anxious to consult as widely as possible within the House before drawing up its recommendations. My colleagues and I are very much aware of the demand for improved standards of office accommodation for Members. Our top priority is to implement the recommendation of the Services Committee in 1987, that by the time the new building as a whole is complete, "every Member who wants a room of his or her own should have one". When Phase 1 of the project is complete next year a considerable amount of extra accommodation will become available. This will include 60 Members' offices, 100 office spaces for Members' staff, new catering facilities, a small shop, a parliamentary bookshop and increased Library accommodation. Offices will also become available within the Palace as staff of the House are moved into Phase 1. The opening of Phase 1 will improve the number and quality of Members' offices available but it will certainly not solve all the existing problems. It is realistic to suppose that a considerable part of Phase 2 will need to consist of Members' offices also. This in turn will reduce the amount of space in Phase 2 that can be used to provide other facilities. The decisions the Services Committee will need to take will therefore be difficult ones. Hence our wish to sound the opinions of as many colleagues within the House as possible. It would be helpful to the Sub-Committee if you could send any written evidence you wish to submit to the Clerk of the Sub-Committee in the Private Bill Office not later than Friday 1st February.

Yours sincerely

12th December 1990. RAY POWELL

Chairman.