Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, whether any pedestrian entry points to the Parliamentary Estate are restricted to particular categories of passholder, and if so what those restrictions are at each point.
Tom Brake
The main Parliamentary Estate has the following pedestrian entrances available to passholders (see exceptions to this below):
House of Commons
- Canon Row/Derby Gate
- 1 Parliament Street
- Carriage Gates Turnstiles
- Subway – Westminster Tube
- Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance
- St Stephen’s Entrance
- Portcullis House
- 53 Parliament Street
House of Lords
- Black Rod’s Garden
- Chancellor’s Gate
- Peers’ Entrance – By convention and practice, only Peers and their spouses or partners are allowed to use this entrance. Members of the House of Lords are allowed to invite up to six guests in via this route unless dispensation to bring in more is given by Black Rod. Guests must be booked in by name before they are allowed access.
Pedestrian entry points to outbuildings which form part of the Parliamentary Estate are not restricted to particular categories of passholder.
Holders of the following passes have restricted access to certain pedestrian entrances on the Estate:
- Former Member Passes – Subway, St Stephen’s, Portcullis House entrances only
- House of Commons Nursery Passes – 1 Parliament Street entrance only
- Westminster Gym Passes – Derby Gate entrance only
- MEP Passes – MEPs are only able to access the House of Lords via Black Rod’s Garden entrance and can only use readers within the House of Lords.
