Information
49. A restructured Information Office and a new
call centre telephone system has facilitated a dedicated service
to the public and to members of the House. Since it began in September
1998, over 14,500 calls were dealt with, averaging over 650 in
a sitting week-three times the number previously answered. Between
January and March 1999, over 1,000 calls about the Pinochet appeal
alone were received from all over the world.
50. The profile of the House was raised following
a mailing of briefing material about the role and work of the
House to over 4,300 secondary schools throughout the United Kingdom.
Feedback from schools has been positive; the mailing boosted demand
for the new series of Teacher Seminar Days run by the Parliamentary
Education Unit, which is funded by both Houses. Demand for information
and briefing papers in general has risen significantly.
51. A BBC television team was given access to
the House from April to November 1998 to film the work of the
House in the context of its proposed reform. A series of three
programmes, ``Inside the Lords'', was broadcast on BBC2 in January
1999 and has since been shown in Australia and the United States
of America.
52. New customised software has enabled the Journal
and Information Office to develop databases of statistics and
other information about the membership and business of the House
in a more efficient and effective way.
Miscellaneous
53. Voice mail for Lords and offices of the
House was introduced in 1998 and improvements have been made to
the message delivery system.
54. The Painting of ``The House of Lords debating
The Queen's Speech in 1995'' by Andrew Festing was unveiled in
December 1998. It was exhibited for three months in the National
Portrait Gallery early in 1999 and now hangs in the Library corridor.
55. On the retirement of the Architectural Archivist,
Lady Wedgwood, Professor Clive Wainwright, of the Victoria and
Albert Museum, was appointed Special Adviser to the Advisory Panel
on Works of Art and the Administration and Works Sub-Committee.
Before this Report was published, the House learnt with regret
of the death of Professor Wainwright.