§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many full-scale evacuations of Portcullis House have been held since the building was opened; and on what dates and at what times. [177201]
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodThe number of fire evacuations of Portcullis House is 31. The dates and times are as follows:
Date Time 5 October 2000 15:03 13 October 2000 11:08 13 October 2000 21:46 7 December 2000 16:48 7 April 2001 14:14 1 June 2001 06:51 6 August 2001 15:01 22 October 2001 08:07 26 October 2001 12:27 4 December 2001 10:20 20 March 2002 22:22 November April 2002 06:39 13 April 2002 03:08 22 October 2002 15:13 28 October 2002 19:22 2 November 2002 10:35 23 November 2002 16:59 5 December 2002 20:24 16 December 2002 09:36 19 February 2003 11:50 27 March 2003 08:38 6 May 2003 11:44 14 July 2003 20:00 19 December 2003 10:30 09 January 2004 18:25 20 January 2004 22:36 7 February 2004 09:47 9 February 2004 16:49 3 March 2004 13:51 21 March 2004 13:17 1 April 2004 05:19 During the early months of occupation of Portcullis House a large number of evacuations were due to oversensitive sensors.
The number of unnecessary alarms and evacuations have been reduced; so far in 2004, evacuations have been for genuine, if minor, incidents.