Letter from Lord Colwyn CBE to the Chairman
of the Committee
When we met on 26 February you informed me of
the issues of concern to your Committee which you intended to
address in your inquiry. You highlighted in particular the pressure
on some of your cafeteria facilities at peak times and the possible
need to regulate access to spread demand more equally through
your various outlets. You invited comments from the Refreshment
Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee held a brief discussion about
the issues you mentioned at their meeting on 26 February.
The first and overriding point which we would want
you to bear in mind is the fact that historically the Lords have
always depended on the catering facilities of the Commons since
our own are simply inadequate for the numbers of Members and staff
we have.
This is particularly true of your cafeteria
facilities; we have two small cafeterias in the Lords, the Lords
Canteen which has 40 covers for breakfast, lunch and dinner (to
8.15 pm) and the new Millbank Cafeteria in Millbank House which
has a further 36 for breakfast and lunch. By contrast we have
over 700 Members and 400 staff of the House, not to mention security
staff, Members' staff, civil servants and others. Our impression
is that informal eating areas, especially in the Palace, are those
which are in most short supply. Continuing access to your facilities
is thus of great importance to Members and staff in this House,
especially to those who are on duty late in connection with sittings
of the House.
Second, I know your Committee is concerned at
the use of your facilities by our Members. As a Sub-Committee,
we have no very helpful observations here, other than to report
our impression that Members of the Lords do make frequent use
of the cafeterias in the Commons, such as the Terrace Cafeteria
and Portcullis House; but we also think that there is fairly widespread
ignorance amongst Members of the Lords about the facilities available
to them in the Commons, and the terms on which they are available.
This may be something which your Committee may wish to consider
further.
The Lord Colwyn
Chairman, Refreshment Sub-Committee, House
of Lords
21 March 2002
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