Introduction

Numerous improvements to public information and access have been made over the past few years

132. The Commission recognises the importance of getting a consistent and coherent message across to the general public if it is to succeed in its aim to improve public understanding and knowledge of the House. The Board of Management acknowledges that this will require closer co-ordination between departments responsible for retail, education and information activities. As a consequence, in 1998 it charged a group of senior staff from all departments with developing policy and coordinating activities in this area. Much has been achieved over the last few years, including the opening of the Jubilee Café for visitors, a fundamental redesign of the Parliament website, and the production of a well-received publication scheme under the Freedom of Information Act. The sections below set out the principal areas of work during the last year. Future projects are set out on pages 61 to 63.

Hansard Society

133. During the year, the Hansard Society made an application to the House for financial support. Many of the society’s activities fit well with the work of the House administration in support of the strategic aim to increase public knowledge and understanding of Parliament, and it was therefore agreed to make a grant to the Society of £50,000 a year for three years. The grant will support the employment of two Society staff who will take forward work in areas that complement the work done by the House itself. Two initial projects are funded by this grant (see page 62 for details).

Visitor Management

Central Tours Office

134. The Central Tours Office was created in response to the Commission’s wish to regularise the existing operation of Members’ ‘Line of Route’ tours by introducing an agreed standard of guiding, timed tours to eliminate periodic overcrowding, a ‘one stop’ booking service, and more formal guide payments.

135. The CTO was set up in October 2002 and went live four weeks later. This very short start up inevitably led to some problems, with little time to develop and trial systems, or anticipate likely workloads. This was compounded by the introduction of the revised sitting hours in January 2003, which reduced the availability of whole parliamentary tours by over 43 per cent on affected days. The impact of this was not fully appreciated by many Members' offices for some time, nor indeed was the need now to provide a range of times as well as a date when booking, leading to considerable logjams in the service.

136. To deal with the problems, extra administrative staff were drafted in to the CTO and, as the systems bedded down and Members' offices came to terms with the implications of the changes, service levels greatly improved. This has enabled the CTO to begin developing a formal set of service targets based on industry best practice.

137. A script has been drafted for use by the 50 existing guides, and training will begin shortly. 59 other staff have expressed an interest in conducting tours and will also be trained. It is expected that these staff will conduct tours on an occasional basis, and that the numbers of full-time and occasional guides will be sufficient to satisfy the anticipated demand for tours.

138. Prior to the introduction of the revised sitting hours, the maximum morning quota for visitors was 800, with an average of 600 being achieved. Timed tours allow for a smoother flow of visitors and therefore increase the maximum capacity to 920. This figure is rarely achieved, however, as the majority of tours must now exclude the Commons and are therefore less popular. Where possible the CTO encourages Members not making full use of the twenty spaces on a tour to allow other Members' guests to join in, thus maximising capacity.

139. Daily visitor statistics have shown an upward trend in the first three months since the introduction of the revised sitting hours, reaching an average of 481 in March. This was a promising performance given that March included four sitting Fridays and there were many cancellations due to the international situation. The CTO is confident that the former daily average of 600 visitors is achievable and, with the introduction of tours during recesses, more people will be able to enjoy Members' tours each year than before.

Summer Opening

Summer opening will become a permanent feature of the parliamentary calendar

140. Following the success of the recent summer openings of the Palace, it has now been confirmed that this will become a permanent feature of the parliamentary calendar. The CTO is responsible for summer opening.

141. In summer 2002, the Palace was open on 48 days (including 19 half days, with mornings reserved for Members' tours), one day being lost due to the recall of Parliament on 24 September. 82,679 people visited the Palace during this period, slightly fewer than in 2001 but over twice as many as in 2000, the first year of summer opening. Visitor feedback was extremely positive. Income was £495,377 and expenditure £541,343, leading to a shortfall of £45,966. Sales of guidebooks, souvenirs and other merchandise made a net profit of £23,569 to contribute towards the cost of opening. The new range of merchandise developed for 2002 proved popular with visitors, and led to an increased capture rate of 25 per cent of visitors with an average spend of £6.09 per transaction. Ticket prices will be set at a level to recoup running costs in 2003, following the agreement of the House to a recommendation of the Administration Committee along those lines.[20]

142. In summer 2003 the CTO will be operating on 44 days (including 16 half days); uncertainty over Lords' sitting dates reduces this from a potential maximum of 50 days. Due to the introduction of the conference recess, the summer opening will this year be split between two periods: 26 July - 30 August, and 19 September - 4 October. As before, tickets are being sold by an agency and from an office on Abingdon Green, opposite the Palace, and professionally qualified Blue Badge Guides will conduct the tours.

Jubilee Café

The Jubilee Visitor Café was opened by The Speaker in May 2002.

143. Located off Westminster Hall in an area formerly used as a staff canteen, the Jubilee Café opened in May 2002 to provide inexpensive light meals and lavatory facilities for visitors to the Houses of Parliament. The café is easily accessible to wheelchair users and other disabled visitors and the area includes lifts providing disabled access to the parallel chamber in the Grand Committee Room and adjacent meeting rooms.

144. The café is particularly popular with visitors completing their tour of the Houses of Parliament, and catered for 2,000 visitors a week during the summer opening to the public. By the end of the year, the café had provided refreshments for over 45,000 visitors, many of whom would not previously have been able to gain access to any catering or rest facility during their visit to the House.

145. A small information zone has been created in the lobby entrance to the café, with plasma screens showing live coverage of both Houses when they are in session and a short video about the work of Parliament at other times. Information boards and leaflets also help the House achieve its objective to improve public understanding and knowledge of the role and work of Parliament.

Proposed Visitor Centre

146. Despite the improvements that have been made in the provision the two Houses make for visitors to Westminster – such as the summer opening of Parliament and the Jubilee Café – facilities remain limited. The Commission is aware of growing pressure for the better welcome and reception of constituents and other visitors to Parliament and it has long been an aim of both Houses to improve public understanding of Parliament’s work.

147. The Commission would like to see visitor facilities at Westminster improved by the addition of an interpretive visitor centre, if a suitable site can be identified. In pursuance of that aim, an initial feasibility study was commissioned during the year. Consultants were engaged to assess different locations and levels of visitor facilities, from an improved welcome and access to more fully developed information provision.

148. This first stage of the study produced options which were the subject of wide consultation. The Commission, like most of those consulted, accepted the need to improve the physical arrangements by which the reception of visitors is handled. Some of the proposals pose difficult questions, however, and would require some rearrangement of accommodation within the Palace. Further studies have been commissioned, including the investigation of sites outside the parliamentary estate. We look forward to this work being completed early in 2003/04.

Providing information to the public

Freedom of Information

Preparations are currently being made for the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in 2005

149. Preparations are currently being made for the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in 2005. Although the House is not subject to the existing Code of Practice on Access to Official Information, it is one of the public authorities included in the scope of the Act. A cross-departmental working group of senior Commons officials, chaired by the Clerk of the Journals, has met at regular intervals throughout the year to co-ordinate the work which needs to be done.

150. During the first part of the year, the main focus for the group was the preparation of the publication scheme. The publication scheme requirements of the Act came into force for the House in November 2002. The House of Commons publication scheme was approved by the Information Commissioner early in July 2002, and is available on the Parliament website. The first stage of developing the scheme was largely a matter of bringing together the wealth of information which is already published by the House, and describing it in a way that would help the public find what they were looking for. Since then, work has been in progress to identify new material to add to the scheme. This mostly relates to administrative information such as the resource accounts, personnel policies and business planning information. In December 2002, The Speaker announced his decision that, from late 2004, the House would publish the total sum for the allowances which each Member had been paid during the financial year. These details will also be added to the publication scheme.

151. During the second part of the year, the group organised a series of awareness raising seminars for some of the staff most likely to be affected by the Act. The purpose of the seminars was to ensure that staff were able to comply with the publication scheme requirements of the Act and to encourage them to consider the implications of the individual rights of access in their areas of work. Some of the areas of work identified were then included in departmental business plans. The group is firmly committed to the implementation of common records management procedures across Parliament, and lent its support to the records management initiatives being led by the Parliamentary Archives (see pages 43 to 44).

House of Commons Information Office

During 2002/03 the Information Office received some 69,000 telephone enquiries and 9,000 written enquiries

152. The House of Commons Information Office answers enquiries from the public which relate to the work, publications and history of the House of Commons. During 2002/03 the Information Office received some 69,000 telephone enquiries and 9,000 written enquiries, most via email. In 2002/03 the telephone enquiry bureau answered 83 per cent of calls within 20 seconds, the best performance ever.

153. The table below shows that the number of enquiries has been on a steadily downward path since 1999/2000. This is related to increased public access to the internet, the expansion in the range of parliamentary material published on-line, and easier navigation of the website following the recent redesign.

Enquiries from the public to the Information Office

Year		Total	of which:
			Telephone	Email	Other written
1998/99		111,973	107,484	3,811	678
1999/00		111,803	105,464	5,751	588
2000/01	(a)	92,751	83,490	8,783	478
2001/02		83,008	72,292	10,205	511
2002/03		78,269	69,269	8,415	585

Note: (a) There was some under-recording of calls in early 2001 during due to technical problems.

154. The Information Office produces a range of publications, including the Weekly Information Bulletin[21] and a series of over 60 'Factsheets'.[22] During the year approximately 8,500 Factsheets were sent out in hardcopy and around 240,000 were downloaded from the Parliament website. A complete review of the content and design of the Factsheets is nearing completion with revised versions of more than twenty of them already available.

155. The Information Office is responsible for maintaining elements of the website, including MPs' contact details and 'frequently asked questions'. All these elements were revised and up-dated during the year as part of the preparations for the re-launch of the site in July 2002. As it becomes increasingly possible for the public to access basic information directly, via the internet, requests received by the Information Office tend to be more complex in nature.

156. The Office has also been developing a database containing biographical information on Members of Parliament since 1979. This was published on the Parliament website in April. There are plans for publication in hard copy later in 2003.

Broadcasting

The current arrangements for broadcasting House proceedings guarantee 'gavel to gavel' coverage of both Chambers and Westminister Hall

157. The current arrangements for broadcasting House proceedings guarantee 'gavel to gavel' coverage of both Chambers and of sittings of the House in Westminster Hall, which represents a total of about 70 hours live coverage a week. Committee coverage is limited to those meetings which the television companies consider sufficiently newsworthy to justify the extra costs. However, efforts being made to increase awareness of the work of select and standing committees appear to be paying off. About a dozen committees are now televised each week and in the run up to Christmas it was not unusual for up to 16 or 17 meetings to be televised each week.

158. This level of activity is reflected within the Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU), which archived 2,360 tapes of proceedings during the year. The Unit also completed 714 requests for taped footage of proceedings during the year, a 15 per cent increase on 2001. Forty-five per cent of orders were from Members and Peers and 13 per cent from broadcasters, the remainder (37 per cent) were from commercial organisations and members of the public, a percentage which is increasing year on year. Leaflets promoting the services of the PRU are now in circulation, with the aim of maximising income by increasing the number of tape orders still further.

159. The camera systems and television control rooms used in the coverage of proceedings in the Chambers of both Houses were replaced in their entirety during the 2002 summer recess and the PRU was totally refurbished. These were major projects completed on time and within budget. Provision had been made to import an outside broadcast vehicle to provide coverage of proceedings should the House be recalled during the recess. In the event this was unnecessary - the work was completed and the systems tested in time for the recall on 24 September.

160. The changeover to digital televising is now complete and since October 2002 all coverage of proceedings, whether on the floor of the House or in committee, has been widescreen. A 'clean feed' is delivered to broadcasters in both 16:9 ratio and the more traditional 4:3 ratio and picture quality is noticeably improved.

On-line Information

The redesigned parliamentary website was launched in July 2002

161. In 2002/03 there were 14.6 million hits on the Parliament website as a result of which content was successfully retrieved, demonstrating the extent to which, for many members of the public, the website is the preferred medium for accessing information about the House. A major theme of the work of the Group on Information for the Public has been to work with House of Lords officials to improve the design of Parliament's website, so that the wealth of information contained on it can be better presented and navigated. The webcast of proceedings in the House and its committees is also under development.

Website redevelopment

162. The redesigned Parliament website www.parliament.uk was launched at the start of the 2002 summer recess. It aimed to provide:

• a more modern and attractive design for the most widely used pages;
• a better search engine, with an advanced search facility; and
• improved navigation.

163. The old site was a comprehensive and detailed information resource, but served the needs of the specialist user much more effectively than the casual browser. The new site provides a more friendly and welcoming home page, with a news section and direct links to the Order Paper, Hansard, current bills, select committees, early day motions, the Register of Members' Interests, and many other areas of parliamentary activity including pages for the House of Commons Commission and other elements of the House administration.

164. Further useful features include:

• a Directory of MPs, Peers and Offices, which links to biographical details for all Members, as well as email and website addresses where available;
• more detailed information about the work, remit and membership of those select committees which scrutinise the work of Government;
• the publication scheme, which arises from the Freedom of Information Act (see paragraph 150);
• a direct link from the home page to the live webcasting of parliamentary proceedings at www.parliamentlive.tv;
• improved site map and index;
• improved 'frequently asked questions'.

165. A customised content management system enables individual departments and offices to draft, edit, update and publish their own documents. The redesigned site was developed and tested in line with industry standards on accessibility and design, and assessed by the Royal National Institute of the Blind as part of their See It Right consultation so that accessibility issues for people with impaired sight can be addressed.

166. An independent review by the British Web Design and Marketing Association compared the site with Government sites from other countries and described www.parliament.uk as "the best example of 'open government' adoption of internet technologies that we have seen."

167. The site is kept under regular review by a senior management group, to identify possible improvements, development opportunities and potential future services.

Webcasting

168. In January 2002 the two Houses launched a joint pilot webcasting service, streaming on the internet live audio-visual coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords, sittings in Westminster Hall and a number of select and standing committee meetings.

169. This was a simple service, making use of signals already available to broadcasters through existing televising arrangements and was not widely advertised. Nevertheless, within the first year, more than 200,000 visits to the site were recorded and, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, up to 600 people were logged on at any one time. The average viewing time of more than 10 minutes per visit suggests that users consider www.parliamentlive.tv as a viable alternative to traditional broadcasting.

170. During the year, a specialist consultant was engaged to analyse feedback and data from the pilot. His report, and recommendations about future options, have been widely discussed, including with the Broadcasting and Information Select Committees. Following these discussions the following proposals were put to the Commission and agreed:

• the establishment on a permanent basis of an enhanced version of the current webcasting service, including wide screen format, improved audio quality and captioning;
• the launch of new channels offering audio coverage of all committees meeting in public, supported by information pages about the committee being webcast and its work;
• the establishment of a limited archive, allowing on-demand viewing over both the internet and the Parliamentary Network for a period of up to a fortnight, with the possibility of more advanced options in future;
• making webcasts available on the intranet, subject to improvements to the Parliamentary Network.

Retailing and Merchandising

171. During the year, the Board of Management undertook a strategic review of retail and merchandising operations. As a result, in January 2003, the House appointed a Retail Manager with previous experience in the heritage market to take responsibility for the development of a retail marketing strategy that incorporates commercial, educational and information objectives. The Retail Manager has taken over responsibility for the management of the Refreshment Department's souvenir shop and kiosks, and for the bookstall in St Stephen's Hall. A final decision on the future of the kiosk for visitors in Westminster Hall will be made after consultation with the House of Lords, but in the meantime, steps are being taken to widen the range of goods offered for sale from the nearby bookstall in St Stephen's Hall.

172. The Board's review was undertaken concurrently with a study of options and opportunities for merchandising or licensing reproductions of works of art owned by the House. The study was carried out by an independent consultant, in consultation with the Board's representatives and with the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art. The Commission has approved in principle the development of a new range of merchandise drawn from the works of art held in the House's collection, and copyright and reproduction rights are now being reviewed so that the Retail Manager can commence work with the Works of Art Committee to develop a suitable range of merchandise. Proceeds from the sale of these items will go to the Speaker's Art Fund.

Parliamentary Bookshop

The bookshop now has its own website, which will provide world wide access and e-trading facilities

173. The Parliamentary Bookshop provides access to parliamentary and Government documents to members of the public and professional users from a site adjacent to the Houses of Parliament. Although there has been a noticeable decline in the volume of purchases by professional users due to the difficult business climate and the increased use of documents made available via the internet, casual trade from callers at the shop has held up rather better. Following the merchandising review, work will be undertaken with the newly appointed Retail Manager to assess how education and information for the public can be emphasised through the Bookshop's operations.

174. In another development, the Bookshop now has its own website, at www.bookshop.parliament.uk. Together with a visual redesign, this has provided the Bookshop with a modern and technologically advanced site, which will provide world wide access and e-trading facilities.

Providing information to specialist audiencesParliamentary Education Unit

175. The Education Unit works on behalf of both Houses of Parliament, providing resources and support for teachers and students to increase their knowledge and understanding of the role, work and history of Parliament. The Unit, which currently has a staff of five, offers a range of services including booklets and posters, visits programmes, videos and an education website for Parliament, at www.explore.parliament.uk. September 2002 saw the introduction of Citizenship into the national curriculum in England, bringing a new context to the Unit's work. Elements within the political literacy strand of the secondary school curriculum, which is statutory, include 'the work of parliament, the Government and the courts in making and shaping the law' and 'the importance of playing an active part in democratic and electoral processes'

176. In April 2002 the Education Unit re-launched its series of six Education Sheets as Parliament Explained booklets. These have been substantially re-written and are in full colour for the first time. A priority for the forthcoming year will be to supplement these with a summary volume that will be more appropriate to students not specialising in politics. In September a new video, Our Parliament, aimed at 8-13 year olds was launched that can be purchased by schools as a package including teachers' guides for key stages 2 and 3. By the end of the year over 1,000 copies had been distributed.

The Education Unit works on behalf of both Houses of Parliament, providing resources and support for teachers and students to increase their knowledge and understanding of the role, work and history of Parliament

177. For over 20 years a major feature of the Education Unit's work has been the Autumn Visits Programme, which is aimed at 16-18 year olds studying politics or related subjects. In 2002 the programme ran from 5 September to 11 October. Four sessions were run daily with up to 80 participants at each. Sessions have four elements:

• a welcome and introduction;
• a video presentation - this year the Unit's video Parliament Uncovered was used for the first time;
• a question and answer session with a guest speaker - usually an MP or Peer; and
• a tour of the Palace of Westminster emphasising the work and role of Parliament.

178. Overall some 7,800 students from nearly 220 institutions participated in the Autumn Visits Programme this year and the programme was well supported by Members and Peers acting as guest speakers. The introduction of September sittings in 2003 will mean that the Programme will need to be re-structured: it is anticipated that it will operate on fewer days, but sessions will offer a larger maximum capacity.

179. A major project for 2003/04 will be a redesign and re-launch of the Explore Parliament website. A supplier for this project has been appointed and it is hoped that the new site will go live in the late summer.

Official Visitors

180. This year the House welcomed official visitors from 78 countries, including 24 Speakers and 97 clerks and other senior officials. The Overseas Office is responsible for providing support to, and contributing to the programmes of, official visitors, as well as clerks on short attachments from other parliaments. In addition the year saw the first parliamentary cooperation seminar for parliamentary officials which was organised by the Office in conjunction with the Department for International Development. Officials from ten different countries in the African Commonwealth attended a five-day formal seminar which was complemented by two further days of meetings on subjects of the participants' choice.

181. The Overseas Office assisted the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) with its regular Westminster seminar, which is attended by representatives of many Commonwealth parliaments. The head of the Office is secretary to the Society of Clerks at the Table which met in Namibia in September 2002 under the auspices of the CPA's annual conference.

Parliamentary libraries: international links

182. The Library continues to participate actively in the Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and in the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation. On 14 and 15 August 2002 the Library hosted the 18th Conference of Parliamentary Librarians at the House of Commons as a pre-conference to the main IFLA conference in Glasgow. During the year, the Library answered some 140 specialised enquiries from parliaments in other countries.

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