HC Deb 02 March 1992 vol 205 cc55-6W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many telephones there are in the House of Commons; and what was the total telephone bill for the last available year.

Mr. MacGregor

[holding answer 5 December 1991]: I understand there are 2,972 telephones in the House of Commons; the House telephone bill for the year ended 31 March 1991 was £1,212,831.49.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Lord President of the Council what monitoring of telephone calls made from public areas of the House of Commons takes place; and what percentage of telephone expenditure takes place from such locations.

Mr. MacGregor

[holding answer 5 December 1991]: The monitoring of telephone calls in the House has in the past caused Members great concern, particularly on the ground of the threat to their privacy. I am aware a number of Members make frequent use of telephones in the corridors and currently there is no monitoring of telephones in these areas or in any others.

Over recent months the Director of Finance, appointed as a result of the Ibbs report, has been considering how to measure telephone usage and expenditure throughout the House. The Director of Finance is aware of the sensitivities of Members to the monitoring of telephone calls and it is now for him to make a proposal to the House of Commons Commission on the principle of monitoring if he wishes to do so.

If telephone monitoring were to be introduced in any part of the House in the future, Members and staff would be given adequate warning and explanation of the measures planned. There remains, however, at present the need for the House to balance the identification of telephone expenditure against the preservation of privacy for Members in their use of the telephones throughout the House.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the policy towards supplying Members and authorised users with a key or pass card to access telephones in the public parts of the House; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor

[holding answer 5 December 1991]: Proposals to limit the use of telephones will be considered by the Administration Committee shortly after the Easter recess and it is hoped to introduce new measures when the telephone exchange is upgraded in mid-1992; it is unlikely that a key or pass card will form part of these proposals.

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