The House Authorities are taking advantage of the summer recess to carry out much needed improvement works to the Palace of Westminster.

The work primarily focuses on creating an environment that is safer, well maintained, more energy efficient, and more accessible to the public.

The Palace of Westminster will benefit from accessibility improvements during recess which include the installation of new handrails, ramps and updated lavatories. New handrails will be installed in the Speaker's court. A new ramp will be built outside of the Meddle's corridor on the way to the terrace. The lavatories on the Principle and Ground floors will also receive some much needed attention. This is part of Parliament's commitment to the Disability Discrimination Act 2008.

A restoration project will also take place during recess to repair cracks in the beautiful stone façades in New Palace Yard. As part of a rolling program masonry work will be done throughout Parliament to conserve and maintain the historical integrity of the building.

Along with a facelift new state-of-the-art webcams will be installed in Committee Rooms 3,4,15, and 16. This is done to extend the visual web castings of proceedings taking place within Parliament that will give the public an in depth look at what goes on at the committee stage.

From the 28th July the Palace of Westminster will again be available to access via guided tour. The tour includes the spectacular Royal Apartments, the beauty of the House of Lords and the political fervour of the House of Commons. The tours last approximately 75minutes, it is wheelchair accessible.

Please note that there is an admittance fee for the tours £12 for adults, £5 for children and £30 for a family of four. However I can arrange tours for constituents free of charge. To do this please contact me in advance via this website so I can see to the paper work.

annesnelgrovemp@parliament.uk