Committees

Modernisation Committee to hear from members of the Parliamentary community on the accessibility of the Commons and its procedures

8 May 2025

On Tuesday 13 May 2025, the Modernisation Committee will hear from members of the Parliamentary community on the accessibility of the Commons and its procedures.

Tuesday’s session will focus on how those who work in Parliament perceive the accessibility of the House of Commons, and any obstacles or barriers they have faced in seeking reasonable adjustments or support.

MPs will also explore the accessibility of the House of Commons’ procedures.

The cross-party committee will hear from a House of Commons clerk, two MPs’ staff, and a journalist in the Parliamentary press gallery:

  • Mike Everett, House of Commons Clerk
  • Harry Gable, MP staff member and representative for GMB Union
  • Sunara Bint Ali, MP staff member and representative for Unite Union
  • Esther Webber, Senior UK Correspondent, Politico

The session will take place at 11.45am. Find out more about the evidence session.

The session will also be available to watch on Parliament Live.

This is the second public evidence session of the Modernisation Committee’s inquiry into access to the House of Commons and its procedures. The first session on Tuesday 1st April saw the Committee hear from disabled MPs.

Physical accessibility of Parliament was one of the key themes emerging from the Committee’s call for views last year.

The Committee’s inquiry is looking for views on what short-term adjustments could be made to the physical estate ahead of wider restoration projects. The Committee’s work in this area will not consider the Restoration and Renewal of Parliament, which is being considered elsewhere, but will explore what short to medium term changes and adjustments can be made to improve the accessibility of Parliament.

MPs, members of the Parliamentary community, experts and interested stakeholders are invited to submit evidence to the Committee’s inquiry by 9 May 2025.

Terms of reference

The committee requests views on the following:

  1. What feasible adjustments (deliverable in the short to medium term ahead of Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster) to the current physical estate would make Parliament more accessible to MPs, staff and visitors with disabilities?
  2. How should the House of Commons collect and share information about the reasonable adjustments individual MPs require, to better support access to all services?
  3. What aspects of House of Commons procedure and practice pose a barrier to MPs with disabilities?
  4. What steps are already in place to address them and what more could be done?
  5. How can information about what is happening in the House of Commons and how the House of Commons works be communicated in a more accessible way to A) MPs and their staff; B) the public?
  6. What specific changes to parliamentary language, activity and behaviour would make it easier to understand what is happening in the House of Commons, and how the House of Commons works?

The deadline for submissions is 9 May.

Submissions can be made on the Committee’s website.

Further information

The Modernisation Committee was established in the summer of 2024 and in September set out its key strategic aims of driving up standards, improving culture and working practices and reforming procedures to make the Commons more effective. 

Image: House of Commons