Nick Harvey: Mr. Whelan holds a temporary pass (light blue) issued in June 2009. It is sponsored by the parliamentary Labour party from within an agreed allocation.
Nick Harvey: The Commission made no decision on 8 March on a response to the petition. It agreed a response on 29 March.
Nick Harvey: It is not the practice to publish advice given to the Commission. However, as the hon. Member knows, in response to a request from the Administration Committee, Mr. Speaker wrote to the Chairman of that Committee in January explaining how the planned site had been selected from among the sites initially considered and setting out the estimated cost of converting each of the premises covered...
Nick Harvey: No expenses of any kind have been claimed.
Nick Harvey: The Speaker's adviser has worked for 73.5 days since 30 November 2009, up to and including 12 March 2010.
Nick Harvey: The Unite union is not a recognised trade union under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 for the purpose of collective bargaining with the House Service. However, the House Administration has recently agreed a draft memorandum of understanding with Unite and the Members' and Peers' Staff Association, who represent staff employed by hon. Members. The memorandum covers a range of...
Nick Harvey: In 2008-09 the overall net cost incurred by the Catering and Retail Service in the Department of Facilities was some £6.1 million, in accordance with the budget and pricing strategy approved by the Finance and Services Committee following advice from the Administration Committee. This represents the difference between income and the cost of the services provided. It is not possible to...
Nick Harvey: There are currently no voltage optimisers or equivalent technologies in use in the House of Commons part of the parliamentary estate. However the feasibility of installing this equipment is currently being assessed.
Nick Harvey: The Commission decided that the nursery will be open to children aged 0 to five of Members, Members' staff and House of Commons staff. The possibility of opening the nursery to other groups will be considered after the general election when the level of initial interest is clearer.
Nick Harvey: The Commission decided in December 2009 that there should be an advisory panel of Members for the nursery project. Mr. Speaker wrote to three Members in February to ask them to serve on the panel. The criteria in asking those Members to serve were that the panel should be small, that each of the three largest parties in the House should be represented, that the panel should otherwise be as...
Nick Harvey: It is more appropriate for Members to list their public PGP keys on their own websites. Members can already choose whether there is a link from the Parliament website to their own sites.
Nick Harvey: It is estimated that the income (i.e. sales excluding VAT) from the facilities being closed in 1 Parliament street would have been approximately £225,000 in 2010-11. However, this reduction in receipts in 1 Parliament street is expected to be offset to a significant extent by an expected increase in receipts in other venues, such as Moncrieff's and the private dining rooms in the Palace. On...
Nick Harvey: It is planned that the nursery will begin operating in September 2010, but the precise date has yet to be determined. It is not possible to give an exact answer to the second part of the hon. Gentleman's question, but the Commission decided to move ahead in order to achieve the opening date in September without further delay.
Nick Harvey: This has yet to be finally determined.
Nick Harvey: Catering staff working at 1 Parliament street were told by the Director of Catering Services on 16 December 2009 about the Commission's decision to convert Bellamy's Bar, the Club Room and the Astor Suite into a day nursery. Since then affected staff have had one-to-one consultations with managers to discuss options for their redeployment and the trade unions have been kept informed of...
Nick Harvey: Detica Ltd. undertook a piece of work, which cost £15,640 inclusive of VAT, in support of the internal inquiry into the unauthorised disclosure of information about Members' allowances.
Nick Harvey: The question of personal support staff for Mr. Speaker is a matter for him. No additional financial authority was required for the appointment of a special adviser as the costs are being met within existing budgets.
Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave on 23 March 2010, Official Report, column 170W.
Nick Harvey: The commercial competition for a nursery operator is currently in progress which will provide information relevant to the operating costs for the nursery. In order to avoid undermining the House's position in the commercial competition, it is not possible to disclose any further information at this stage. According to childcare experts, there is likely to be a build up of usage over a period:...
Nick Harvey: The deadline for the receipt of tenders from nursery operators was Friday 19 March 2010. A copy of the specification for the contract will be placed in the Library.