APPENDIX
Extract from the First Report of Session 2006-07
of the House of Commons Administration Committee, Improving
Facilities for Educational Visitors to Parliament (HC 434)
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
1. Parliament is a working institution, and while
we are committed to the development of facilities for visitors,
the provision of facilities that enable the House and its Members
to operate effectively must take precedence. (Paragraph 5)
2. We welcome the recent improvements to some of
the services available to the public, and now consider the extent
to which they should be developed further. (Paragraph 30)
What should Parliament provide for its visitors?
3. The Palace of Westminster is not a museum; it
is the home of a working Parliament. Visitor facilities should
not compromise the efficiency and effectiveness of Parliament's
work. The United Kingdom public is entitled to see their Parliament
in action and to expect an open welcome with guidance and information
to make their visit productive and memorable. However, the severe
pressure on accommodation within the Parliamentary Estate means
that it is necessary for us to prioritise among our visitors.
(Paragraph 37)
4. We acknowledge that to "do nothing"
is not an acceptable option. The Houses' core objectives of promoting
public knowledge and understanding of the work and role of Parliament
could not be achieved in the context of current services provided
to visitors, particularly those provided by the Parliamentary
Education Service which are already at capacity. As Parliament
promotes the limited facilities and resources it has to offer,
the demand for visitor services provided by the website, Education
Service and Information Offices is likely to increase beyond current
capacity. The Education Service in particular will not be able
to continue to expand its services without a dedicated teaching
space. (Paragraph 43)
5. To do nothing would bring into question Parliament's
commitment, through its strategic plans, to improving the public's
knowledge of its work. In our judgment, such an approach would
fail to respond both to the scale of the physical challenge we
face at Westminster in handling the large number of school visitors,
and to the political task of re-engaging with school groups and
other young people for whom Parliament may be remote and difficult
to understand. Some improvement in services is necessary in order
to provide both a signal of commitment and an opportunity to deliver
substantial change. It is important that Parliament is not seen
as exclusive, unwilling to open up and welcome the citizens who
pay for its upkeep. This could be damaging to the reputation of
Parliament. (Paragraph 44)
6. We consider that at the cost estimated by the
Feasibility Report and Options Appraisal, published as an appendix
to this Report, a new build visitor centre would not represent
value for money. In reaching this conclusion, the Committee agreed
to look again at the prioritisation of visitors to Parliament
and to decide how best to improve visitor facilities without the
construction of a new building. (Paragraph 47)
7. We are most likely to be successful in engaging
with the public if we focus on those visitors we most want to
reach and on what Parliament already does well (Paragraph 49)
8. It is important that we engage voters of the future
in the work and role of Parliament in order to promote a lifetime's
interest and participation in the democratic process. The best
way to reach most young people is within an organised learning
environment, with direct relevance to what they are being taught
every day in the classroom. (Paragraph 55)
9. The House of Commons Commission has stated that
in terms of visitor services: "visits conducted under the
auspices of the Education Service should in principle be prioritised":
we agree. We believe that the highest priority for an improvement
in visitor services must be to provide dedicated facilities for
educational groups. (Paragraph 56)
10. New educational facilities should be designed
principally for school groups. But providing facilities flexible
enough to be used for activities involving young people visiting
other than through schools could allow for a fuller use of the
space outside of term time. (Paragraph 58)
11. There is scope for Parliament to provide better
facilities for all those interested in visiting. However, in the
current climate of pressure on accommodation and in the interests
of concentrating resources where they are most needed, we do not
favour the allocation of a new dedicated space to any category
of visitor other than educational groups. (Paragraph 61)
12. The redevelopment of the Parliamentary website
provides an ideal opportunity to make information more accessible
for people interested in the democratic process and how Parliament
works, and in the cultural heritage of the Palace of Westminster,
particularly for those who are unable, or disinclined, to visit
Parliament. (Paragraph 62)
13. It is clear from the information provided to
us that provision for visitors at Westminster has fallen behind
other Parliaments and Assemblies, both in the United Kingdom and
abroad. (Paragraph 63)
What should be provided in the dedicated educational
facilities?
14. We do not consider that the request for more
learning space is over ambitious in view of the current demand
for the Education Service's services and the planned programmes
of outreach. We agree that the facilities as described in paragraphs
74 and 78 would provide an educational space that would go further
to meet the needs of students, teachers and Members than the current
allocation of space. (Paragraph 85)
15. Based on the evidence to us from London Museums
and on our discussions with the Education Service and the Central
Tours Office, it is apparent that our current provision for educational
visitors is impractical and uncomfortable for both staff and visitors.
A real improvement in the experience of learners could be made
by the provision of dedicated space. It would signal that Parliament
has a real commitment towards engagement with the public. (Paragraph
87)
16. If a dedicated space is to be provided, advantage
should also be taken of the opportunity to expand significantly
Parliament's capacity to welcome educational visitors. (Paragraph
88)
17. Accordingly we recommend that a dedicated space
for school visitors of approximately 1,000m² (consisting
of flexible accommodation of five classrooms with ancillary space
for storage, toilet facilities, a lunch area and locker space)
should be sought either on or off the existing Estate—the
exact space depending on what becomes available and at what cost.
We understand that the House of Lords Information Committee supports
this recommendation. (Paragraph 89)
18. We accept that in order to provide a dedicated
space for the Education Centre either certain offices on the existing
Estate will need to be displaced into new accommodation and the
space reconfigured, or new accommodation will have to be acquired.
There will be costs associated with both options. (Paragraph 90)
19. We recommend that identifying a suitable space
for the Education Service should be included within the 25 year
Estates strategy, as part of the accommodation strategy. We recommended
the development of this strategy in our Report on House of Commons
Accommodation, to manage and identify accommodation priorities
on the Parliamentary Estate. Providing dedicated facilities for
school parties should be a high priority but must not impact adversely
on the needs of Members for adequate office accommodation within
the Parliamentary Estate. (Paragraph 91)
20. A dedicated space for education in Parliament
would provide a facility for Members of the House of Commons to
develop the link between Parliament and their constituents. It
would need to develop as a resource available to Members and their
staff to interact with school groups and other learners, to communicate
the work and role of Parliament. (Paragraph 92)
21. We recommend that the Parliamentary Education
Service and the Central Tours Office should develop specifically
tailored Members' Tours for schools and that more guides should
be curriculum trained to ensure school children gain the most
benefit from their visit to Parliament. Five times as many children
participate in tours as are able to participate in a Parliamentary
Education Service programme. Tailored tours are an ideal opportunity
for Parliament to engage with school children and increase their
awareness of its work. These tours could be implemented quickly,
in advance of any dedicated accommodation being found for the
Education Service. (Paragraph 93)
22. Members are reminded that they should give advance
warning that their tour group consists of school children in order
to enable the Central Tours Office to provide a tour that has
a specific link to the relevant curriculum and that is pitched
at the right level. (Paragraph 94)
23. Facilities that are offered at Westminster should
be made as accessible as possible to schools from all over the
United Kingdom. (Paragraph 98)
24. We recommend that the Finance and Services Committee
and House of Commons Commission, working closely with the appropriate
bodies in the House of Lords, should consider the case for subsidising
school visits to Westminster from more remote constituencies alongside
the proposals to provide dedicated facilities for the Parliamentary
Education Service. We believe that subsidies should be linked
to learning requirements to ensure that the Education Service
is able to monitor the effectiveness of their teaching programmes.
(Paragraph 99)
25. We recommend that the Group on Information for
the Public should develop concrete costed proposals for a pilot
scheme of regional outreach officers for consideration by the
relevant committees before the Summer Recess 2007. (Paragraph
100)
26. We recommend that improved education facilities
at Westminster should be complemented by use of the website and
development of links with groups that have been identified as
particularly disengaged from Parliament. This will ensure that
members of these groups as well as schools are able to benefit
from the resources available at Westminster and engage with Parliament
whether or not they are able to visit. (Paragraph 105)
Conclusion
27. There has been a growing recognition that much
of the public has little awareness of what we as Parliamentarians
do, how Parliament works and how to find out more. (Paragraph
106)
28. We have examined the feasibility of an off-site
Parliamentary Visitor and Information Centre. We consider that
a full-scale visitor centre would prove a costly venture which
could run the risk of becoming an expensive tourist attraction
for overseas visitors interested in the heritage aspects of the
Westminster area rather than providing a resource for visitors
wishing to learn more about the role and work of Parliament itself.
We share the views of the Select Committee on Modernisation of
the House of Commons and the House of Commons Commission that
the focus of visitor services should be on educational visitors
as the most productive way to improve Parliament's engagement
with the public. (Paragraph 108)
29. We believe that a dedicated space for educational
visitors, on or off the existing Estate, would offer better value
for money and would enable the Education Service to develop exciting
programmes and workshops to engage learners and encourage them
to discover more about the work of Parliament. A dedicated space
for learning could be developed as a resource for Members to interact
with students from their constituencies through the programmes
run by the Education Service and provide support to Members' staff
organising tours for schools. A decision by the House to endorse
our recommendations to proceed with a dedicated space for the
Education Service would set in train more detailed design work
and planning discussions so that a precise and costed proposal
could be brought back to us and to the House of Commons Commission
in due course in consultation with appropriate bodies in the House
of Lords. (Paragraph 109)
30. If we are to develop our education and visitor
facilities to enable Parliament to reach out to schools and provide
greater support for all learners of all ages, we should invest
in a dedicated space and provide the support to do so. The development
of this space should be part of a wider programme, to include
outreach and a redeveloped website, of making Parliament and its
work more accessible and better understood. (Paragraph 110)
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