Access to the House of Commons and its Procedures

Status / emerging findings

• The 1800s Palace of Westminster is systematically inaccessible: disabled MPs report daily struggles with stairs, seating arrangements, voting procedures, and lack of certainty in business scheduling, creating mental toll and unequal ability to contribute.
• House Administration has belatedly begun action: newly created Members Accessibility Group, centralised Workplace Adjustment Passport system, and proactive user feedback in security projects acknowledged as overdue but positive.
• Long-term fixes (major staircase removal, office renovation) await Restoration and Renewal programme; short and medium-term priorities now captured in House Administration business planning with quarterly Commons Executive Board reporting.
• Proxy voting for long-term illness/injury extended; virtual Select Committee attendance expanded; but seating arrangements and 'catching the Speaker's eye' remain procedurally rigid.
• Government accepted core recommendations: established advisory group framework, committed to accessibility audits transparency, embedded accessibility in corporate strategy, and confirmed Restoration and Renewal accessibility priority.

Why it matters

Disabled MPs and staff are currently unable to participate equally in Parliament due to building design and procedures established decades ago. Without forced change, this exclusion will continue through the next decade of renovation work.

Tone arc

Inquiry opened procedural (summer 2025: evidence from academics on Parliament culture, disabled peers on lived experience). Sharpened to critical after July 2025 House Administration session: committee documented long-standing, documented failures and demanded accountability measures, moving from fact-finding to demanding systemic change.

Key witnesses

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE (disabled peer, high-profile witness on lived barriers), Tom Goldsmith, Clerk of the House of Commons (senior administration witness on feasibility), Marianne Cwynarski, Director General of Operations (House Administration accountability), Baroness Sal Brinton (disabled peer, governance perspective), Lord Shinkwin (disabled peer advocate), Disability Rights UK, Mencap, Inclusive Parliament (external advocacy organisations), Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira, University of Leeds (parliamentary culture research), Esther Webber (MP, staff accessibility perspective)