§ Mr. JesselTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will set out the opening hours on weekdays and Sundays of the woodland garden in Bushy park; whether the park contractors are obliged to comply with these hours; if he will state why the gates were not open by 9.45 am on Sunday 31 May; and what action will be taken to prevent a recurrence.
§ Mr. Key[holding answer 30 June 1992]: The woodland garden in Bushy park opens at 9 am seven days a week. It closes at dusk.
Contractors are obliged to unlock the gates at the stated time. This is a scheduled item within the ground maintenance contract.
Due to an oversight on the part of the contractor a member of his staff was not available to open the gates at the required time on Sunday 31 May 1992.
The contractor was financially penalised for failure to comply with the contract and subsequently gave assurances that it would not happen again. It has now been agreed with the contractor that in order to make sure all gates are open by 9 am he will start unlocking earlier than hitherto.
The client duty officer for the day has also been instructed to pay particular attention to the contractor's performance in this area and report any lapse to the park superintendent.