§ Mr. SymsTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on Phase F of the Refreshment Department modernisation programme. [48334]
§ Mr. KirkwoodA project to modernise the 30-year-old main kitchens in the House of Commons (Phase F) has been approved by the House of Commons Commission. The project, which is the final phase of a six year modernisation programme agreed in debate by the House on 12 July 1994,Official Report, columns 940–62, involves the total refurbishment of the Refreshment Department's two main kitchens and the construction of new areas for the safe handling of food deliveries and storage.
The work on the kitchens is necessary for compliance with food hygiene, health and safety and fire regulations. During the debate in 1994, the House accepted the evidence of two separate firms of consultants, both of whose reports concluded that the substantial rise in the production demands on the kitchens over the past 30 years, and the changes in food hygiene legislation over that period, had led to the situation whereby the Refreshment Department could not longer continue to operate the existing premises in their present form and condition safely.
Since then, a team of experts and officials has developed detailed proposals for a modernisation scheme which will require demolition of the existing kitchens, the incorporation of additional space and the construction of new kitchens and support areas. The extensive structural alterations which are essential to achieve a well ordered layout and production workflow, are such that the scheme is programmed to take up to 8 months to complete, commencing in August 1999. The estimated cost of the project is £9.5 million, which is on target with the inflation adjusted bid agreed by the House in 1994.
The Commission has since been advised by Dr. Lisa Ackerley (a food hygiene expert who has recently given evidence at the E. coli Fatal Accident Inquiry in Scotland) that statutory requirements would be met only through a total redesign and refurbishment programme which addresses the fundamental problems of poor layout, lack of space and lack of temperature controlled storage. In the face of advice that the failings in the existing, antiquated kitchens
amount to serious breaches of food safety legislation",the House of Commons Commission considered that any further delay would be imprudent and would in any case by likely to lead to further cost increases.The House of Commons Commission approved the detailed scheme for the modernisation of the main kitchens at their meeting on Monday 15 June.