II. THE TOUR
6. The appraisal report from the consultants confirmed
the Committee's belief that increased access to the Palace was
now a realistic aspiration, which could be achieved without interfering
with the working requirements of both Houses. The Committee
considers that it would be appropriate to re-open the Line of
Route to the public during the Summer Adjournment, and therefore
recommends that such a re-opening should take effect from 31 July
2000, subject to the re-opening taking into account three fundamental
considerations:
- The Palace of Westminster is primarily a place
of work, and public access to it must not impinge upon that work;
- visiting arrangements during the recess must
not constrain either the Parliamentary works programme, or the
ability of either House to sit at any time it may be necessary
to do so; and
- current rights of Members of both Houses,
and of the Parliamentary Education Unit, to sponsor visits must
be maintained.
7. The Committee further recommends that tours
should follow the route currently taken by visitors between 9.30
am and 12 noon, provided neither House is sitting, ie:
Norman Porch Queen's Robing Room
Royal Gallery Prince's Chamber Chamber of the
House of Lords Peers' Lobby and Corridor Central
Lobby Commons' Corridor and Lobby Chamber of the
House of Commons return to Central Lobby St Stephen's
Hall Westminster Hall leaving by New Palace Yard.
8. It is proposed to assemble visitors in Victoria
Tower Gardens and to route them into Victoria Tower by way of
Black Rod's Garden. Wheelchair access to the Palace would be possible
along the slightly revised route that currently operates. However,
this does mean that wheelchair users would not be able to enter
St Stephen's Hall (and Westminster Hall only if entering by the
North Door) but would, nevertheless, be able to see everything
else that an ambulant visitor would see.
9. The Committee considers that the Summer opening
programme should become an annual event, and that, if it were
successful, it might be appropriate, in due course, to extend
opening to Easter, Whitsun and certain other weekends.
10. The Committee was advised that three visitor
management systems had been evaluatedpersonally guided
groups, audioguided groups, and free-flow. The consultant's conclusion
was that the audioguide system offered the best option, balancing
the need to accommodate large numbers of visitors with the provision
of a consistent and high standard of interpretation. The consultants
also recommended the adoption of a timed ticket system to encourage
pre-booking and minimise the impact of peaks and troughs in visitor
movements along the tour route.
11. The Committee endorsed these conclusions;
and therefore recommends that groups equipped with individual
audioguides, with a commentary available in different languages[1],
would be the most appropriate visitor management system for the
Line of Route, in conjunction with a system of timed ticketing.
12. The House will wish to note that alternative
forms of interpretation would be available for visually or hearing
impaired visitors.
1 The proposal is that the commentary would be available
in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. Back
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