House of Commons Administration Committee Formal Minutes Session 2015–16 Administration Committee The Administration Committee is appointed to consider the services provided for and by the House of Commons. This includes services provided to the public by Parliament, including visitor facilities, the Parliament website and education services. Current membership: Sir Paul Beresford MP (Conservative, Mole Valley) (Chair) Sir David Amess MP (Conservative, Southend West) John Cryer MP (Labour, Leyton and Wanstead) Martyn Day MP (Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk) Michael Fabricant MP (Conservative, Lichfield) James Gray MP (Conservative, North Wiltshire) Nigel Mills MP (Conservative, Amber Valley) Ms Gisela Stuart MP (Labour, Birmingham, Edgbaston) Mark Tami MP (Labour, Alyn and Deeside) Rt Hon. Keith Vaz MP (Labour, Leicester East) Mr Robin Walker MP (Conservative, Worcester) Other Members Powers The powers of the Committee are set out in House of Commons SO No 139. Standing Orders are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications All publications of the Committee are on the Internet at: http://www.parliament.uk/ac Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Sarah Heath (Clerk), Daniel Wood (Inquiry Manager), Jennifer Kelly (Committee Assistant) and Anikka Weerasinghe (Media officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Administration Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 4151; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] Formal Minutes Tuesday 21 July 2015 Members present: Sir David Amess James Gray Sir Paul Beresford Nigel Mills John Cryer Ms Gisela Stuart Martyn Day Mark Tami Michael Fabricant Mr Robin Walker 1. Declaration of interests Members declared their interests in accordance with the Resolution of the House of 13 July 1992. Sir Paul Beresford declared interests as part-time dental surgeon for Beresford Dental Practice Limited, 207 Upper Richmond Road, SW15 6SQ: Fees paid to Beresford Dental Practice for 2013­ 14, giving net profits of £6,613. I made no drawings from the company during the year. Hours: 300 hrs approx. (updated 26 May 2015) (Registered 16 December 2014). Costs of £700 to attend the FMC dental conference on 13 and 14 June 2014 were met by FMC, Hertford House, Farm Close, Shenley, Herts WD7 9AB, in lieu of payment for advice and editorial advice. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 24 June 2014). Retained as consultant on Professional Indemnity for Lockton Insurance, The St Botolph Bldg, 138 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AG (until 31 March 2015). Remuneration of £1,000 a month for between 6 and 24 hours each month. (Updated 26 May 2015). June 2014, payment of £4,000 for the four months from February 2014 to May 2014. Hours: 54 hrs approx. (Registered 24 June 2014). December 2014, payment of £5,000 for the five months to end November 2014. Hours: 70 hrs approx. (Registered 16 December 2014). Private accommodation and surgery, London. The employment of his wife, Julie Beresford, as part-time Secretary/Diary Secretary. Sir Davis Amess declared interests as Parliamentary Adviser to the Caravan Club, East Grinstead House, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UA; £6,000 a year in return for an expected commitment of 100 hours; a donation of £9,750 from the 97 Dining Club; Chair of Board of Trustees of the Industry and Parliament Trust and Chairman of the Industry and Parliament Fellowship Committee. The employment of his wife Julia Amess, as part-time Secretary/Caseworker. John Cryer declared a donation of £3,000 from Unite the union, 128 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8TN. Martyn Day declared an allowance of £1,100 approx. for councillor duties from West Lothian Council, West Lothian House, Howden Road South, Livingston EH54 6FF; a donation of £2,500 from Sandra Stevenson. Michael Fabricant declared a donation of £2,000 from Tony Davis; and a donation of £4,000 from Charles Ashworth. James Gray declared six fees totalling £550 from ComRes, 4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA; £100 from YouGov, 50 Featherstone St, London EC1Y 8RT; £80 from Ipsos MORI, 79-81 Borough Road, London SE1 1FY; £2,510 from David Hempleman-Adams; £815 from UK Defence Forum, Dobson House, Regent Centre, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3PF; Study tour of military cemeteries and battlefields in Belgium and France; visit to Reykjavik, Iceland leading the British delegation to the 2014 Arctic Circle Assembly at an estimated cost of £1,100 from The Mamont Foundation, c/o Rothschild Trust Guernsey Ltd, PO Box 472, St Julian’s Court, St Julian’s Avenue, St Peter Port GY1 6AX, Guernsey, Channel Islands. Employment of wife, Philippa Gray, as Executive and Diary Secretary. Nigel Mills declared fees of £200 from Ipsos MORI, 79-81 Borough Road, London SE1 1FY; £100 from YouGov, 50 Featherstone St, London EC1Y 8RT, donated to my constituency party. £2,500 from United and Cecil Club, 18 Thorney Lane North, Iver, Buckinghamshire, SL0 9JY; £5,000 from Robert Kirkland; £2,500 from Tim Rice; £2,000 from David Bliss. Ms Gisela Stuart declared fees totalling £22000 from The House Magazine (Dods Parliamentary), 21 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BP; £4,300 from Cumberlege Connections, Snells Cottage, The Green, Newick, Lewes BN8 4LA; a total of £300 from BBC, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA; £284.20 from Deutschland Radio, Hans Rosenthal Platz, 10825 Berlin, Germany; £771.78 from the Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Co), 222 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB; £5,000 from Nexus Schools Ltd, Berrington Lodge, 91/93 Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton WV3 9PE; £2,358.85 from Edgbaston CLP, First Floor, 140 Harborne Street High Street, Birmingham B17 9NN. Mark Tami declared fees of £75 from ComRes, Four Millbank, London SW1P 2JA; £75 from Populus, Northburgh House, 10, Northburgh Street, London, EC1V 0AT; a total of £400 from Ipsos MORI, 79-81 Borough Road, London SE1 1FY; £2,258 from Unite the Union, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF119SD; Employment of wife, Sally Tami, as part-time Secretary/budget control. Mr Robin Walker declared of £5,000 from Mr Ray Apted; £2,000 from Redwood Care Homes Ltd, The Foresters, Walton Pool, Clent, Stourbridge DY9 9RP; £3,000 from JCB Research, Rocester ST14 5JP; £5,000 from OGN Group, OGN House. Hadrian Way, Wallsend, NE28 6H; a total of £1,000 from visits outside the UK from Spectrum BioSecure Ltd, Spectrum House, Checketts Lane Industrial Estate, Worcester WR3 7JW; Magic Whiteboard, Blackpole Trading Estate West, Worcester WR3 8TJ; Worcestershire Chinese Association, 18 Malvern Road, Powick, Worcester WR2 4RU; West Midlands Safari Park, Spring Grove, Bewdley DY12 1LF. 2. Election of Chair Sir Paul Beresford was called to the Chair. 3. Administrative matters Resolved, That John Cryer MP would take the chair in the event of the Chair being unable to attend all, or part of, a Committee meeting. Resolved, That the Committee meet on Monday afternoons at 4.30pm on days when the House of Commons Commission is not meeting. Resolved, That the Committee publish notes of its discussions. Resolved, That, in principle, oral evidence sessions could be held in public. Resolved, That the Chair be given the following delegations: approval of film, photography and (where required) income generation and music requests; to make recommendations on projections on the Elizabeth Tower; and to handle other extraordinary requests related to the use of facilities. Resolved, That routine approvals of requests to play music on the Estate should be dealt with by the Events team as business as usual. Resolved, That the new Director General, when in post, should regularly attend Committee meetings. 4. Appointments Ordered, That Martyn Day be appointed to chair the Travel Office Consumers’ Panel. Ordered, That Nigel Mills be appointed to the IT Users Forum. Ordered, That Sir Paul Beresford be appointed to the Facilities Customer Focus Group. 5. Programme of work Resolved, That the Committee visit parts of the Estate to become more familiar with areas relevant to their remit, including the new Education Centre. Resolved, That the Committee recommend to the Commission a protocol describing its remit. 6. Works update John Borley, Director General of Facilities and Richard Tapner-Evans, Director of Catering Services, briefed the Committee in private. [Adjourned till Monday 7 September at 4.30 pm Monday 7 September 2015 Members present: Sir Paul Beresford (in the Chair) Sir David Amess Keith Vaz Michael Fabricant Mr Robin Walker James Gray Nigel Mills 1. Digital working Rob Greig, Director of Digital, and Paul Martin, Parliamentary Security Director, briefed the Committee in private. 2. Members’ Interviews Project Report John Benger, Clerk Assistant and Director-General, Department of Chamber and Committee Services, Penny Young, Librarian and Director-General, and Patsy Richards, Head of Customer Services, Department of Information Services, briefed the Committee in private. Resolved, That the Committee draw the Report to the attention of the Executive Committee and others. Resolved, That the Committee agree to the publication of the Report, including on its website. Resolved, That the Committee endorse the planned work programme for the project into 2016. 3. Post Office Counter Services Fiona Channon, Director of Accommodation and Logistics, Department of Facilities, briefed the Committee in private. 4. Events in Portcullis House Atrium Resolved, That the Committee reiterate that, in principle, the Atrium in Portcullis House can be used for commercial hire events, when the House is not sitting, subject to the necessary permissions and all costs being covered. 5. House Service Strategy - consultation Tom Goldsmith, Head of Governance Office, House of Commons, briefed the Committee in private. 6. Update on Works during September 2015 Recess Dr Brian Finnimore, Parliamentary Director of Estates, briefed the Committee in private. [Adjourned till Monday 12 October at 4.30 pm Monday 12 October 2015 Members present: Sir Paul Beresford (in the Chair) Sir David Amess Ms Gisela Stuart Martyn Day Mark Tami Michael Fabricant Keith Vaz James Gray Mr Robin Walker Nigel Mills 1.