7 Working with the House of Lords
265. Although there is a constitutional necessity
to keep the work of the two Houses formally distinct from each
other, there is a strong case for enhanced co-operation between
them, not least in the promotion of the work of Parliament to
the public at large. There is in any case a powerful argument,
on efficiency grounds, for support services for both Chambers
to be provided on a common basis, particularly as they occupy
the same site and operate to broadly similar timetables.
266. In one crucial area of support services a new
Department — for Parliamentary Information and Communication
Technology (PICT) — has been established. Legislation is
currently before Parliament to give effect to this by creating
the basis for appropriate employment arrangements for bi-cameral
staff. Governance for PICT comes from a Joint Business Systems
Board, comprising senior officials from both Houses. The Bill
provides for further such joint Departments to be created should
this be agreed. There are currently no plans for a further combination
of Departments; but the PICT governance structure offers a model
for any such organisational arrangement.
267. Nevertheless, combined working with the Lords
does exist, in various forms. Parliamentary Estates and Works
and some aspects of cleaning are already run under the Serjeant
at Arms Department for both Houses, with the Lords reimbursing
40% of the total cost of shared services. Other services such
as the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Service, the Broadcasting
Unit, the Education Service, Central Tours Office and the Parliamentary
Office of Science and Technology are provided for both Houses
on a similar basis. The House of Lords manages the Parliamentary
Archives on behalf of both Houses and the contract for shorthand-writing
for select committees is let jointly by both Houses. The Travel
Office contract is managed on behalf of both Houses by the House
of Commons.
268. It is also evident from our review that there
is also a good deal of informal co-operation between the two Houses
which works to mutual benefit — for example, frameworks
for contracting and purchasing that are made available to the
other House on a voluntary basis; and the Serjeant at Arms and
Black Rod work closely together on ceremonial, security and contingency
planning. Our impression is that relationships between officials
at the working level have strengthened over the years and are
currently excellent.
269. Nevertheless there would be further mutual benefit,
in terms of economies of scale, together with increased flexibility
and opportunities for staff development, were more joint services
to be established.
270. Should the climate be ripe for further consideration
of the benefits of providing more support services jointly with
the House of Lords, the order of priority, in terms of practicality,
might be as follows—
- Estates and Works: where the
only change required would be to convert the position of the Lords
from that of customer to full partner;
- the Official Report: where the skills and activities
are similar and there is sometimes competition for the same staff;
- the Refreshment Department: where, particularly
in the Palace of Westminster, there would be the prospect of rationalisation
of kitchens and outlets.
271. A recent debate in the House of Lords on the
Parliament (Joint Departments) Bill indicated that the Lords are
reluctant to consider further joint services, and the Commons
is also likely to want to wait and see how the PICT arrangement
settles down before wishing to move forward. For the present,
therefore, informal co-operation seems to provide the best way
forward, stopping short of Departmental mergers. During this period,
benchmarking against each other in respect of services conducted
separately would be a helpful spur to improved performance.
272. We recommend that the possibility of providing
more services jointly with the House of Lords should be explored,
in the interests of efficiency, with a view to the eventual establishment
of more joint Departments.
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