Twenty-second Annual Report for 1999-2000

Annex A

Department of the Serjeant at Arms
Annual Report 1999-2000

1.	Preface The Serjeant at Arms Department aims to provide the best possible service to Members and all those who work in or visit the House of Commons, on the authority of the Speaker and within the regulations of House. The Serjeant at Arms, as Executive Officer of the House, is responsible to the Speaker for all accommodation and associated services, including the Works and Communications Directorates; many services are managed on behalf of both Houses. The postholder is also responsible for security and access to the Palace of Westminster and the parliamentary outbuildings. The Department interprets its purpose and responsibilities as requiring high performance in the following Key Result Areas (KRAs): Delivery of high quality customer services by providing services to an agreed standard which are relevant and accessible to all who work in and visit Parliament. Ensuring the Parliamentary Estate is a good place to work in and visit by providing a quality environment and infrastructure for Members of both Houses and all others who work in and visit the Parliamentary Estate. Provision of a safe and secure environment and infrastructure throughout the Parliamentary Estate by ensuring that the risk from violence, accident, fire and IT system misuse for those who work in and visit the Parliamentary Estate is managed and minimised. The preservation of the Heritage Site by managing the Parliamentary Estate in such a manner that its heritage is safeguarded for future generations. The provision of high quality direct support of the legislative process by ensuring the availability of the necessary staff and facilities to enable the Chambers and Committees of the House to function effectively, and to support parliamentary ceremonial. Delivery of all services in a cost-effective manner by ensuring that the services provided by the Department are delivered effectively to agreed standards and costs, and offer value for money.
2.	Plans, goals and achievements
	2.1	General The Serjeant at Arms' Department has enjoyed a full programme of development during the year under report, achieving all its prime goals and meeting its most significant targets. The work undertaken by all sections of the Department has gone a long way towards providing the House with the improved infrastructure and services it requires to function effectively at the start of the 21st century. The report which follows details the Department's major achievements in each of its Key Result Areas and outlines activities to be undertaken in the next reporting year.
	2.2	Quality Service The delivery of the "best possible service" remains a significant departmental objective. Well trained and highly motivated staff are the key factor in enabling any organisation to deliver quality customer service and the Department has led the House's quest for recognition as an Investor in People as a means of ensuring that the necessary systems for good staff management are in place. This goal was accomplished in March 2000 when IiP accreditation was achieved. A strong training programme focused on business needs remains the foundation of quality service delivery. This year a major element of the programme has been an initiative undertaken by all staff, to enhance personal proficiency in service delivery. A course has been developed and will be delivered next year to give all line managers the ability to coach their staff and reinforce these skills. In addition a competency-based training programme for middle and senior managers will also begin in autumn 2000. Another important element of Investor in People accreditation is to achieve effective internal communication and to this end, the Department successfully introduced a monthly team briefing and feedback process during the past year. The Department has developed a very successful database to act as one of the core elements of its movement towards computer-aided facilities management. This initiative is being taken up by other Departments of the House of Commons and by the House of Lords. The development work required to provide what is now referred to as the Parliamentary Administrative Database (PAD) has absorbed most of the Department's IS staff resources. As a consequence, the Help Desk system, which provides the supporting process for service delivery, has developed more slowly than planned and a major effort is now underway to develop its capacity to provide management information. The development of automatic links between information systems will also have a high priority during the next year. A service level agreement (SLA) for day-to-day maintenance was adopted between the Parliamentary Works Directorate and the Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod. It is planned to set up further SLAs with internal customers during the next year. A Review of Management and Services carried out on behalf of the House of Commons Commission recommended a separate review of the role and structure of the Parliamentary Works Directorate. This review was agreed by the Clerk of the House and commissioned in February 2000 by the Serjeant at Arms as part of a study into the organisation, systems and governance of the Serjeant's Department. The review team is expected to report before the start of the Summer Recess and its recommendations are likely to be implemented over the coming years.
	2.3	Good place to work and visit The staff of the Department can take pride in the achievement of a number of very significant objectives this year in upgrading and improving the infrastructure of the Parliamentary Estate. Most significant among these is the continued construction, on schedule and within budget, of the new Portcullis House which now graces the north side of Bridge Street. Internal fitting of the building is proceeding apace. It will be handed over by the builder in July 2000 and the first Members will move in during September. The programme for the occupation of the new building and for the subsequent rationalisation of the House of Commons accommodation within the Parliamentary Estate is complex and falls to the Serjeant at Arms to execute. During the year much detailed planning involving the Party Whips and all Departments of the House, has taken place to ensure that as many accommodation needs as possible can be met and that all moves proceed smoothly. An accommodation survey was conducted in the autumn, to which 556 Members responded. This provided a wealth of valuable data on Members' preferred locations and style of accommodation, which will be used to inform future planning, as well as supporting the Accommodation Whips in the allocation of offices in Portcullis House. It is planned to complete the occupation of Portcullis House by January 2001. That year will see a major works programme on the Estate. A complete refurbishment of Norman Shaw South will begin and conversion work will be carried out to enable Departments of the House to move into 7 Millbank. This scheme will provide significant economies and should enable a House-wide training facility to be established. In the Palace of Westminster work will be done to upgrade the Members' accommodation in Commons Court Block to current standards. The conversion of the Westminster Hall Cafeteria into a visitors' centre will begin. This work allows the provision of lift access to the Grand Committee Room and Westminster Hall interview room areas, which are the last part of a programme to provide access throughout the Palace for people with disabilities. A review of disability access in the Commons outbuildings is being commissioned. Work has continued in the Palace on maintaining the building's fabric and service infrastructure. During the year, the refitting of the main kitchens was completed, thereby concluding the work to modernise the Refreshment Department facilities in the Palace. Further progress was made with the modernisation of the electrical, heating and water distribution systems; and improvements to the security installations. Committee Room 10 was restored and air conditioned and the new organ was installed in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. Also during the year the stone restoration of the Royal Court will be completed and the four year programme will begin to modernise the air conditioning and fire precautions in the Victoria Tower archives. During the year the Parliamentary Communications Directorate has successfully carried out a number of planned upgrades designed to increase the robustness and resilience of Parliament's IT infrastructure. In addition, it has effectively managed a major programme of Y2K testing and, in some cases, equipment and programme replacement. The largest programme was the complete upgrade of the network hardware over which the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN) is delivered to all areas. This was carried out during the Summer Recess 1999, without major interruption to services and within the agreed budget. The planned high-speed network link to central and devolved Governments has also been put in place. The feasibility of using encrypted virtual private network technology to allow remote access to the parliamentary network was assessed in the last financial year. As a result it is now planned to implement this facility in September 2000. The parliamentary voice mail facility was brought into full use during the year and access has been provided to all those Members of both Houses and their staff who have requested it as well as staff of the Houses whose work requires it. The enhanced Messaging service is now in place and enables Members who wish it to have their messages diverted to their voice mail, E-mail, pager or mobile telephone short message service (SMS), as required. The project to replace all Members' and their secretaries' telephone sets in the estate with new digital technology handsets has been largely completed, except for those areas, such as Norman Shaw South, where the cabling is technically inadequate. Occupation of Portcullis House will see the project largely completed. All obsolete telephone key systems have also been replaced, giving many Departments access to improved digital facilities It is planned to establish a PCD desktop support team, enabling in-depth assistance for desktop applications to be provided to Members of both Houses and their staff and, if requested, to Departments of both Houses. A core team has been formed and the support specification will be available by July 2000. In response to survey feedback received following the 1997 General Election, considerable effort is now being put into planning the reception of new Members elected at the next Election. This involves participation in House-wide initiatives and also the refinement of a number of accommodation-related departmental activities. Good facilities and information for visitors to the House are very important and this year has seen important initiatives by the Department aimed at improving standards. Trials have been carried out of an electronic notice board in Central Lobby giving information about Committee meetings. These have been successful and will be used as part of the system being adopted to manage Committee meetings in Portcullis House as well as the Palace. A pilot scheme for a visitor information desk in Central Lobby has demonstrated the need for such a facility. The two Houses have agreed to open the tourist route through the Palace of Westminster (known as the Line of Route) to the public on a trial basis over the Summer Recess 2000. The Serjeant at Arms will manage this project on behalf of the House and a Line of Route manager has been employed to oversee the project. During the coming year, it is planned to move the Royal Mail sorting operation within the Parliamentary Estate from the Palace to the basement of Portcullis House. This will alleviate the current cramped working conditions and provide improved services. The Department, together with the Industry and Parliament Trust has set up and sponsored the initial year of the Adapt Project which aims to train Members' staff in IS/IT procedures, office management and organisation. This measure will help to provide trained and competent staffing for Members - a vital parliamentary requirement.
	2.4	Safe and secure environment During this year the Department has renegotiated the Special Service Agreement under which the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) provide security and fire services to Parliament. The contract is due for review in 2001 and it is planned that the Deputy Serjeant at Arms will review the new contract structure, in consultation with the House of Lords, before the review takes place. Performance Indicators for the MPS and a review of security staff numbers, posts and skills will be considered during the coming year. The Pass Office team has adopted a new system which allows reference investigations to be carried out on-line. The use of electronic vetting has resulted in a reduction of four days in average time to process a pass application. The CCTV surveillance system is under review and will be upgraded to digital standard over the next two years. Work to install the strategic fire protection systems in the Palace has continued. The automatic fire detection programmes and fire compartmentation are now 60 per cent and 50 per cent complete respectively and the programmes are expected to be completed in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The upgrading began of a number of lifts in the Palace and outbuildings to allow their use by people with mobility problems to escape in the event of a fire or other incident. The programme is to be completed in spring 2003. A programme to improve fire exit signage continues and will be completed by the end of the financial year. The recruitment of a Deputy Fire Safety Manager to a new post has allowed the Department to begin the fire risk assessments which have formed the statutory basis of the Houses' fire precautions from 1 December 1999. This post has also allowed staff fire training to be developed without the need for contractor involvement. During the year, the Department, in association with Black Rod, began to research the options for an updated Parliament-wide business continuity plan, including an alternative location for Parliament. It is planned to consult other Departments regarding their requirements during the coming year. A draft IT Security policy and procedure document has been issued and a House-wide statement of IT Security has been prepared. The Department remains committed to developing a strong Health & Safety culture within which all staff and particularly managers are aware of and fulfil their responsibilities for safety. Staff at all levels will participate in House-wide Health & Safety training. A Departmental Health & Safety Committee, with staff representation, is being formed with the aim of spreading best practice uniformly throughout the Department.
	2.5	Heritage Work has continued to conserve and restore the historic fabric and furnishings of the Palace. This year it has included Royal Court stone restoration, internal stone cleaning, encaustic tile restoration, decorative conservation in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, restored ceilings, office refurbishment, and the conservation of clocks, historic furniture and paintings. Planning reached an advanced stage for the scheme to restore Old Palace Yard. Some seven years of restoration work has now been completed since the House took responsibility for its own premises. The next round of septennial surveys of the fabric is therefore now commencing. The Conservation Architect has continued to provide guidance on the preservation of the historic fabric by means of individual briefings and induction programmes. It is intended to develop a reinforcement programme of education and training. The programme to build up a comprehensive database and archive continues, capitalising on the substantial databases covering art and historic furniture which are currently in place. Work has begun to produce and promulgate conservation guidelines, design guides and standards for works in the Estate.
	2.6	Support to the Legislative process The decision by the House to sit in the Grand Committee Room off Westminster Hall on a trial basis required the Parliamentary Works Directorate to carry out a major refurbishment of that room with very little time for planning and preparation. The very high standard achieved and extremely rapid realisation of the House's requirement are a credit to those involved. It is hoped to extend the facility for on-line booking of Committee Rooms to the Clerk's Department. It is planned to review the operation of the Message and Letter Boards and of facilities for visitors to the Galleries.
	2.7	Cost-effective services The Department has continued with its programme to obtain better value for money in building-related contracts and purchasing; these items form the largest part of the parliamentary budget. The Deputy Director of Contracts and Procurement has introduced a number of best practice initiatives. A system of post-project appraisals for all project expenditure over £5000 has been put in place. The House-wide Accommodation Strategy Working Party, which is chaired by a Serjeant at Arms representative, is developing a costing system for space on the Parliamentary Estate. Technical measures, including the replacement of the boilers in the Palace with more efficient modern equipment, and a concerted energy efficiency campaign led by PWD mean that Parliament is on plan to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in energy use by April 2001.
3.	Performance measurement Our strategy for delivering quality customer service and providing improved value for money includes identifying appropriate measurements. These cover activities which span the Directorates. There will be a need to keep under review the performance measures which are found to be best fitted to the Department's activities.
	(a)	Help Desk statistics: there has been increased use of the three help desks to record requests for information. The number of cases logged during the year was 47,178 compared to 39,795 for the previous year. This increase reflects an increasing awareness of the help desks by customers. The Department responded to 87 per cent of cases within the target time specified, an improvement on the 79 per cent achieved during the six months up to March 1999. The Department continues to examine and review its processes and procedures for responding to cases and is working towards a target of 90 per cent resolution on time. The statistics for the year are illustrated in the chart below:
	(b)	PDVN accounts: the number of PDVN accounts has stabilised over the past twelve months at approximately 3000. This reflects that the Department may have largely met the current demand for online connections for the current Parliament within the current infrastructure and cabling available. A total of 340 Members have individual connections and 580 Constituencies are connected. A review during the year to remove accounts which were no longer in use resulted in the decrease in the number of users shown in the chart below.
	(c)	PDVN availability: the availability of the PDVN during normal working hours is monitored and reasons for unplanned downtime identified and investigated. The percentage of time which the network infrastructure, the email and internet services were available during each quarter of the year is illustrated in the chart below. The investment in infrastructure during the summer recess period has greatly improved network resilience and accounts for the improved performance.
	(d)	Voice mail: the successful implementation and growth of this service this year is illustrated by the increase in the number of users from 103 in the pilot to 776 at the end of March. The user profile is illustrated in the chart below.
	(e)	Telephone Operator Bureau: this service is often the first point of contact with Parliament for the public ringing up to speak to their Member of Parliament. The service has a target response time for telephone calls to be answered, and performance is continuously monitored. The new contract to be let in August 2000 is an opportunity to reduce our target response time from ten to eight seconds. We have improved our actual response times in the last two years by 14 per cent, as shown in the chart below.
	(f)	Parliamentary administrative database: the development of this database to hold management information has continued this year. The users of the system have increased in the space of a year from 65 users all based in the core Serjeant's area to 140 users spread across a number of Departments of both Houses. The chart below illustrates the growth of access first within the Serjeant's department and now to Black Rod's and the Commons Clerk's departments.
4.	Summary The Department is the largest and most diverse within the House of Commons. Its role in all its activities is to provide excellent service, sound and reliable works, IT and facilities management, together with the appropriate level of security in order to support both the legislative process and all those who work in or visit the House. The one finite resource available to achieve such standards is the staff of the Department and the successes evident this year, including Investors in People, are a direct reflection on their efforts.
	Michael Cummins Serjeant at Arms

  

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Prepared 26 July 2000