Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster: Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster
On Monday February 1st members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Disability gave evidence to a group of MPs chaired by the Leader of the House, Chris Grayling MP, on how the planned refurbishment of parliament should take cognisance of the needs of disabled people but also how any temporary building that houses the work of the parliament should be designed or planned for.
The Joint Committee has now published its report on the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster
Those giving evidence were Baroness Thomas, Baroness Grey Thompson, Dr Lisa Cameron M.P. the chair of the APPG and Philip Connolly the policy manager of Disability Rights UK.
The APPG on Disability had concerns about poor wheelchair access, small and inadequate lifts, poor acoustics, the lack of sufficient lighting, the absence of satisfactory signing.
We believe that there should be an access audit involving disabled people and that there is a need for disability awareness training for all staff especially security staff. Philip Connolly said,
“This is clearly a long-term process but we are pleased to have had this early opportunity to input into it. It is an historic palace but nonetheless parliament is there to serve all the people and most be capable of being accessible to all.”