Memorandum from the Parliamentary Press
Gallery
1. The Press Gallery represents the 300
or so journalists accredited by the Serjeant at Arms for passes
to the House of Commons. Of these around 170 Lobby and Gallery
journalists are based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery, which
is their permanent place of work and has been used by parliamentary
reporters at least since the Press Gallery Committee was formed
in 1881. By custom, the House has made an overall allocation of
accommodation to the Press Gallery and reporters are allocated
desks within in by its Honorary Secretary.
2. In 2003, the then Serjeant at Arms and
House of Commons Commission informed the Gallery that the Parliamentary
Estates Directorate wished to carry out refurbishment work to
its accommodation in order to meet health and safety requirements.
We are fond of our warren of rooms and desks, which some of us
have known and used for many years. But we understand what drives
the Commission's policy with regard to modernising the physical
framework of the Palace of Westminster and have done our best
to co-operate and to carry our members with us.
3. An outline plan was subsequently agreed
under which works will take place in 2006 and 2007 and the number
of work spaces in the Press Gallery would fall to 152. In addition
to a net reduction in the number of desks, the Press Gallery has
had to accept further difficult compromises in order to meet the
legitimate wish of the House authorities to modernise its facilities
and make its accommodation compliant with relevant regulations.
These are, chiefly: cutting the number of rooms allocated for
catering from three to two and converting the current Press bar
for office space; giving up the current Press Library for office
space; and converting the Commonwealth Writing Room, which is
presently used for monitoring select committees, into office space.
4. The Press Gallery has in this process
raised no complaint about its accommodation, nor asked for additional
working space, nor requested that the House spend additional money
on its behalf. Its prime interest throughout has been that journalists
should continue to have an effective working environment adjacent
to the Reporters' Gallery of the Commons and within very easy
reach of the Committee Corridor, Member's Lobby and other meeting
places within the Parliamentary estate. Whether national or local,
print or radio and TV journalists, we feel we are part of the
daily fabric of parliamentary life and are proud to be so. The
Press Gallery has no view on the allocation of accommodation elsewhere
in the Parliamentary estate, other than to wish the review well.
If there are points you would wish us to explain or to answer,
we are at your disposal.
17 February 2006
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