Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2019-20 · 2020. 8. 28. · Management Commentary 21 Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities 26 Governance Statement 27 Climate change,

Published by the Authority of the House of Lords

HL Paper 110

Ordered to be printed 21 July 2020

Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2019-20

For the year ended 31 March 2020

House of Lords Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2019-20 2

Contents

Foreword Foreword from the Clerk of the Parliaments 3 Performance report Strategic aim and objectives 4 Our governance 5 Performance report by strategic objective 9 Accountability Report Management Commentary 21 Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities 26 Governance Statement 27 Climate change, sustainability and the environment 38 Diversity and corporate responsibility report 43 Remuneration and Staff Report 45 Parliamentary Accountability and Audit 53 Statement of Parliamentary Supply 53 Notes to the Statement of Parliamentary Supply 54 Parliamentary Accountability Disclosures 55 The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General 56 Financial Statements Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure 60 Statement of Financial Position 61 Statement of Cash Flows 62 Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity 63 Notes to the Accounts 64 Audit Committee Annual Report 2019-20 83 Appendices Appendix A: Composition of the House of Lords 2019-20 89 Appendix B: Activity data 90


Foreword from the Clerk of the Parliaments

This is the latest edition of the House of Lords Annual Report to be combined with our Resource Accounts. It draws together into one document a single, comprehensive, and streamlined account of the Administration’s activity in 2019-20. At the time of writing, as with the rest of the country, the Administration is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. This has led to significant changes, and I am immensely proud of the response from staff to the challenges this has presented in continuing to support the work of the House in a completely new way. For the period from the return of the House from the Easter recess in April 2020 the sittings of the House and its committees took place almost exclusively online. In June the House moved to hybrid sittings, with members attending virtually or in person and to a new system of remote voting. These changes would have been considered extraordinary merely weeks ago. Whilst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be fully realised, it had even before this major event been another busy and eventful year for the House of Lords. The House considered several important bills relating to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, including the first sitting of the House on a Saturday since April 1982, and the Administration has developed creative responses to meet the unpredictable requirements in the level of work and the demand for new types of scrutiny, much of it in a pressurised political environment The past year has also led to the House agreeing to changes to the work of Select Committees following a substantial review overseen by John McFall, the Senior Deputy Speaker. This involved far-reaching consultation within and outside the House, and the impact so far has included setting up new committees to consider international treaties, public service provision, and more recently, the impact of Covid-19. It has also been an eventful year during the preparation for the decant, restoration and renewal, and reoccupation of the Palace of Westminster. The passing of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act in 2019 made provision for the establishment of the R&R Sponsor Body on a statutory footing, following its previous establishment in shadow form. The Sponsor Body was constituted in April 2020. Preparations for the formal transfer of the R&R programme from Parliament to the Sponsor Body have involved complex discussions and culminated in the conclusion of the Parliamentary Relationship Agreement, which was signed in April and which sets out the working relationship and responsibilities of the two Houses and the Sponsor Body. The past year has also included several significant events concerned with improving the working culture in the House of Lords. The report by Naomi Ellenbogen QC into bullying and harassment in the House of Lords was challenging for all who work here. I made clear at the time that I was dismayed at its findings and I and my colleagues on the Management Board are determined to improve the working culture in the Administration and in the wider House. The report made a number of recommendations. Many of these are already being addressed, and a new Steering Group for Change – consisting of staff and Members – is overseeing our response to other recommendations and proposals for improving that culture. This remains a work in progress, but it is one to which I and my colleagues are committed.

Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments


Performance Report

Performance report Strategic aims and objectives The aim of the House of Lords Administration is to support and strengthen the House of Lords.

This first half of this report details the activities we undertook in 2019/20 in support of each of our three strategic objectives:

Provide excellent services to facilitate the work of the House and its Members

Promote public understanding of and engagement with the House

Make Parliament safer, more secure, and sustainable

The second half of this report illustrates work undertaken in 2019/20 to progress the nine priorities set out in our strategy for 2019-25, which underpin these core objectives.


Our governance


Our organisation To achieve our aim and three strategic objectives, the House employs around 570 staff. A number of bicameral staff support the work of both Houses of Parliament, and we work closely with Commons colleagues. The table below shows how we are organised to deliver our key services.

Department of Facilities

Property and Office Services (POS) provide a varied range of support to members and staff through the provision and management of accommodation, housekeeping, and other associated office services. Catering and Retail Services (CRS) is responsible for the provision of catering and retail services to members, their guests and staff. In total, CRS operates eight outlets offering a diverse range of facilities that include self-service cafeterias, casual dining and fine dining restaurants, bars, a sandwich bar and a retail gift shop.

Parliamentary Services Offices which closely support the work of the House and its committees:

Black Rod’s Department is responsible for controlling access to and order in the House and the Chamber; business resilience and continuity arrangements; planning, management and coordination of events including the State Opening of Parliament; managing media and filming activities; and the administration of the Royal parts of the Palace of Westminster. Committee Office provides the select committees of the House with research, procedural and legal advice, and administrative support, including the preparation and publication of committee reports. Journal Office provides procedural advice; maintains records on the business of the House, and compiles the Journals of the House; advises members on the Code of Conduct and maintains the Register of Lords’ Interests. Legislation Office supports the consideration and passage of primary public and private legislation, as well as secondary legislation, through the House and through the relevant select committees. Library provides impartial, authoritative, and timely research and information services to support the work of the House. The Official Report (Hansard) provides a complete, authoritative and timely report of proceedings in the Chamber and Grand Committee, as well as Written Answers and Written Ministerial Statements. Transcripts of select committee evidence sessions are also produced.

House of Lords Services


Communications Team

Aims to increase public understanding of the role, work and membership of the House; promote the impact and outcomes of the work of the House; and highlight the relevance of the work of the House to UK citizens. The Communications team also manages internal communications with staff and members.

Human Resources Office

Provides a personnel service for the Administration’s staff. The Office is responsible for recruitment, maintenance of the pay and grading systems and other conditions of service, and includes: Inclusion and Diversity supports the Administration to become more welcoming, inclusive and diverse. Learning and Development responsible for co-ordinating and facilitating the learning requirements of staff of the Administration.

Finance Department

The Finance Department is responsible for providing accounting and financial services to the House, including: financial management and administration; financial reporting; resource and cash management; payments to members, suppliers and staff; and accounting for receipts from members, staff and the public. It includes the Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service (see below under shared services).

Clerk of the Parliaments’ Office

Provides support to the Clerk of the Parliaments in carrying out his functions and responsibilities. The Office also supports the Clerk Assistant, Reading Clerk, Lord Speaker, Senior Deputy Speaker, and Convenor of the Crossbench Peers. The Office provides secretariat and administrative support to domestic committees, the Management Board and some of its sub-committees. It is also responsible for international relations, information compliance, strategy and business planning, risk management, business improvement and change, Restoration and Renewal, internal audit, and other corporate functions.


Strategic Estates and In-House Services

Maintenance of the Palace and the parliamentary estate is provided by the Strategic Estates team and the In-house Services team, hosted by the House of Commons. Expenditure on the Palace and the parliamentary estate is split between the Lords and Commons on a 40:60 ratio, or solely allocated to either House where appropriate.

Parliamentary Digital Service

The Parliamentary Digital Service is a joint department that is responsible for the management of online and digital services including telephony. Each House pays for its own ICT hardware and House-specific software, and the costs of the Digital Service itself are split between the Lords and Commons on a 30:70 ratio.

Parliamentary Security Department

The Parliamentary Security Department is responsible for the security of Parliament and is hosted by the House of Commons. It is led by the Director of Security for Parliament, who is the single accountable security expert for Parliament as a whole. The Director also manages the contract with the Metropolitan Police Service for the provision of security across the parliamentary estate. Costs are split between the Lords and Commons on a 30:70 ratio.

Parliamentary Archives

The Parliamentary Archives provides an archive and records management service for both Houses, and is hosted by the House of Lords. It supports and enables effective information management for the administrations of both Houses and the Parliamentary Digital Service, and preserves and provides public access to many of the most important constitutional and historical records in the UK, in both physical and digital formats, from 1497 to the present day. Costs are split between the Lords and Commons on a 60:40 ratio.

Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service

The Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service provides a procurement and contract-management support service for both Houses, and is hosted by the House of Lords. Costs are split between the Lords and Commons on a 30:70 ratio.

Shared Services


Performance report by strategic objectives The Administration’s performance in 2019-20 is assessed on the following pages, which report against the initiatives set out in our 2019-20 corporate business plan and provide a snapshot of the services we provided as part of our business as usual support for the House.

Provide excellent services to facilitate the work of the House and its Members

The Administration provides services to support the vital work of the House and its members, which includes scrutinising legislation, debating public policy, and holding the government to account.

In 2019/20, this included:

Organising and supporting: Publishing: Helping members

to table:

133 sittings of the House, 24 Grand Committees and 499 Committee meetings

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2019/House-of-Lords-Business-Plan-2019-20.pdf

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2019/House-of-Lords-Business-Plan-2019-20.pdf


In 2019/20, we:

Supported Brexit-related scrutiny work

Supported the Liaison Committee review of investigative and scrutiny Committees led by the Senior Deputy Speaker. The Committee’s report was published in July 2019 and agreed by the House in October 2019.

Implemented a new programme of CPD for procedural clerks, and revised procedural seminars, as part of the Administration’s Procedural Training Strategy

Enhanced our digital service offering, including delivering improvements to WiFi coverage and removing Windows 7 from the Parliamentary network

Conducted quantitative research with members to develop our understanding of their customer experience

The quantitative survey was delivered later than expected in March owing to delays associated with the dissolution of Parliament. As a result, further qualitative research will now be undertaken in 2020/21, as will work planned to review the induction and support provided for members.

We will continue work to deliver the following initiatives in 2020/21:

In partnership with HMG and the Scottish Parliament and Government, deliver the Legislative Drafting, Amending and Publishing Programme – a user-friendly, browser-based tool to draft, amend and publish legislation, and associated business and system change.

Good progress was made in 2019/20, although owing to delays associated with the transition to a new supplier, the forecast for completion has been revised from June 2020 – as stated in our 2019/20 business plan – to March 2021. At the time of writing, it is expected further delays may be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.


Promote public understanding of and engagement with the House

Ensuring that the role of the House is well understood enables us to promote engagement with its work, including through select committees and outreach activities, and to challenge misconceptions about the House.

In 2019/20 this included:

Reaching out to: Organising: Supporting: Responding to:

In 2019/20, we:

Made progress developing a digital vision for Hansard, to include making available live captions of debates on broadcast and webcast outputs

A business case for subtitling proceedings in both the Chamber and Grand Committee has secured financial approval through the AV Programme; the service is expected to go live in 2020. This is a joint initiative and will also include subtitling of the House of Commons Chamber and Westminster Hall.

Piloted use of pop up display kit for archival records and multitouch table internally and externally

Our new pop-up display: The Journey to Democracy, has been to three regional venues in Wales, while the multi-touch table was used in the Peterloo display and in the Royal Gallery. Visitor feedback has been extremely positive.

Continued to develop the House of Lords’ presence on social media



Iteratively deliver a website that meets the strategic needs of both the House of Lords and Parliament as a whole

The pace of delivery of the website and associated business systems accelerated considerably in 2019/20, supported by measures taken in 2018/19 to establish a single technical direction and a more sustainable model for development and delivery. Work will continue in 2020/21, including work to upgrade the content management system.


Make Parliament safer, more secure, and sustainable

We work continually to ensure that Parliament, its buildings, information, and everyone working on and visiting the Parliamentary Estate, remain safe and secure from both physical and online threats. We also have a responsibility to preserve Parliament for future generations, and to manage the impact of the Estate on the environment.

In 2019/20, this included:

Ensuring the safety of: Reducing carbon

emissions by: Recycling:

In 2019/20, we:

Supported planning for Restoration and Renewal (R&R)

Working closely with bicameral and Commons colleagues, delivered a number of Lords-only and bicameral works in the interests of maintaining a safe and functional workplace

Works to complete Cast Iron Roofs Project II Phase II have been completed. Works to refurbish Fielden House started in summer 2019 and the first phase of structural works is currently underway. Fire Safety Improvement Works also progressed well in 2019/20.

Developed and refined fit for purpose relocation contingency and business continuity plans

Continued work to develop and embed a proactive bicameral health and safety culture across the Estate

Delivered year 1 objectives of the Cyber Capability Programme

Worked to improve Parliament’s ability to plan and deliver a balanced investment portfolio of bicameral projects and programmes


Continue future planning for the Parliamentary Archives, via the Archives Relocation Programme (previously named Archives Accommodation Programme)


Progressing our strategic priorities In June 2019 we launched a refreshed strategy for the House of Lords Administration for the period 2019-25. The strategy articulates a number of priorities to enable us to respond successfully to a changing strategic landscape.

This section of the report illustrates some of the work we undertook in 2019/20 in support of these priorities.


Deliver excellent services

Respond effectively to changes in the work of the House, and promote understanding of that work

In order to provide effective support to the House, we must adapt our services as its needs evolve. We aim to complement this activity by developing our work to promote understanding of the work of the House.

In 2019/20 work in support of this priority included:

implementing changes in select committee scrutiny arising from the Liaison Committee report on investigative and scrutiny committees. The report, published in July 2019, makes a suite of recommendations aimed at further strengthening the vital work done by Lords Committees in holding the government to account and scrutinising public policy. Since then excellent progress has been made with the implementation of its findings, including launching a Committees newsletter in January 2020; standing up the Committee Chairs’ Forum, which first met in February 2020; and establishing the Public Services Committee in March 2020. responding to a change in the pace and volume of business in support of the House’s scrutiny of Brexit. This included supporting the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee with an increased volume of Statutory Instruments as a result of Brexit, and the expedited passage of both the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill in January and two Commons Private Members’ Bills in April and September.

supporting the European Union Committee to revise its terms of reference to reflect its core tasks during the Brexit transition period. The Committee’s amended terms of reference, agreed by the House on 17 March 2020, is complemented by a new structure of sub-committees adopted in April 2020, designed to help the Committee to scrutinise the Government’s policies and actions in respect of the EU.

improving the accessibility of Parliament’s proceedings and processes online, including delivering new Votes in Parliament pages enabling users to find all votes that take place in both Houses, and look at individual voting records, in one place; and a new Statutory Instruments tracker.

Use public money wisely

In developing and delivering services to support the House, we are committed to securing good value for money.


reviewing investment criteria to ensure that they remain aligned to the strategies of both Houses


Case study: promoting understanding of the work of the House The Legislation Office took procedure to the Education Centre, inviting a group of sixth form students visiting from Blackburn to carry out the draw of the Private Members’ Bill ballot. The ballot for the 2019-20 session, which took place on 20 December 2019 with a record number of Bills, was the first time the Education Centre has hosted a parliamentary

procedure. The session started with a presentation introducing the work of the House of Lords, its role as a legislative chamber, and Private Members’ Bills, including an interactive quiz using wireless keypads for students to answer questions.


Embrace diversity and improve our culture

We are committed to building a workplace we can all be proud of: one where everyone feels included and is treated with respect. In 2019/20, we continued vital work to: Achieve a positive and respectful workplace culture and effectively address bullying and harassment

Responding to the findings of the Ellenbogen inquiry. In July 2019 the report on the independent inquiry into bullying and harassment in the House of Lords by Naomi Ellenbogen QC was published. The findings of the report are challenging, and we are determined to change in order to meet our ambition to achieve a positive and respectful workplace culture. In response to the Ellenbogen report and feedback from engagement with staff across the Administration on its findings, as well as to the 2018 staff survey, and earlier work to evaluate our culture carried out in spring 2019, we have developed a package of work aimed at embedding a positive and respectful workplace culture. The four workstreams – working with members; engaging inclusively; clearer career choices; and breaking down barriers – will be taken forwards in 2020/21. A Steering Group for Change has also been established to advise the Commission and Management Board on their responses to the Ellenbogen report, and to engage with both Members and staff about how we can work together to achieve the desired change. Implementing the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. In April 2019, the House of Lords endorsed changes to the Code of Conduct recommended by the Privileges and Conduct Committee, in order to bring the Parliamentary Behaviour Code within the Code of Conduct, thereby including members of the House of Lords and their staff in the scope of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. The Code works as part of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme to provide a framework for us to create a respectful working environment, and to respond to any allegations of unacceptable behaviour promptly, fairly, and effectively.

Become more inclusive and diverse

Implementing the Focus on Inclusion plan. In March 2019, the Administration launched the ‘Focus on Inclusion’ plan for 2019-21, aimed at driving cultural change and realising our aim to embed inclusion and diversity. Excellent progress has been made towards implementing the actions detailed in the plan and we will continue to deliver the remaining actions in 2020/21. During the first year of the plan, the Administration has been recognised as a ‘Gold’ status inclusive employer in the ‘National Inclusion Standard’, achieved ‘Leadership’ status in the Government’s ‘Disability Confident’ scheme, and in its first ever submission was placed 64th in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index, and 28th in the ‘Top 50 Inclusive Employers list’ 2020.


Adapt and innovate

Actively engage in the planning and delivery of R&R and decant

Although we anticipate that decant will not take place until well into the 2020s, work is already underway to determine requirements for the restored Palace and wider Parliamentary Estate. In 2019/20 we continued to contribute to this work to ensure we can shape requirements, and to plan how we can continue to deliver our services during decant. This included:

Putting in place a central R&R team to support the House’s engagement with R&R and coordinate the Administration’s planning

Clarifying the relationship and division of responsibilities between Parliament and the statutory Sponsor Body, working closely with the House of Commons and Shadow Sponsor Body

Commencing work to refurbish Fielden House with a view to meeting future decant accommodation requirements in support of R&R

Case study: planning for decant to preserve Parliament’s historic Acts The Pack and Track project, as part of the Archives Relocation Programme, is preparing Parliament’s archival collections ready to move out of the Palace in readiness for Parliament to move out of the building for Restoration and Renewal in the mid-2020s. The work involves sorting, cleaning, boxing up and then barcoding each item, including over 30,000 Original Acts of Parliament, a unique set of historical records some of which date back to 1497. The Modern Acts became the first collection to be moved offsite in February 2020. Embed high-quality digital tools and working practices

Technological advances give us the chance to explore innovative ways to work together and adapt the way in which we deliver our services.


Creating a dedicated drop-in room in the Palace for members to access a more holistic offering of IT services, including technical support and coaching on a range of topics and tools including cyber security, Skype for Business and Windows 10, and how to use different devices.

Facilitating easier collaboration and new ways of working by completing the roll out of Office 365. This enabled the Administration to move with agility to remote working in response to COVID-19.


Work together We cannot accomplish our goals in isolation, and we have to work closely with each other, with members, and with our colleagues in the House of Commons and bicameral services in order to meet our objectives. In 2019/20 we continued work to: Develop open, professional dialogue with members:

Establishing a Steering Group for Change to advise the Administration and Commission on the way in which we respond to the recommendations in the Ellenbogen report, and provide a forum to promote co-operation between members and staff to tackle the issues which affect our common workplace and encourage frank and constructive discussions about the working culture of the House. Become a more unified and collaborative Lords’ Administration:

Coordinating opportunities for cross-office working, offering staff an opportunity to broaden their experience while using their skills to assist other offices during the summer recess and the dissolution of Parliament. Case study: working together to support debate of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union 19 October 2019 saw the House’s first sitting on a Saturday since April 1982. The House met at 10am and sat for almost six hours, during which over sixty members spoke on a motion to take note of the negotiated Brexit withdrawal agreement (which was also being

considered by the Commons that same day). The sitting was made possible thanks to the planning and preparation undertaken by offices across the Administration the week before. Service started in the River Restaurant at 7.30am, and staff of the Printed Paper Office were also in early to formally receive the deal being deposited as a laid paper. Colleagues in Hansard published the official report within two hours of delivery; and the

Table Office produced the House of Lords Business – the official record of what happened in the Chamber – which was published by 7.30pm.

The House debates the motion to take note of the EU withdrawal agreement on 19 October 2019. Copyright House of Lords 2019 / Photography by Roger Harris


Work with the House of Commons and bicameral services to accomplish shared objectives:

Working with the Environmental Sustainability team and the House of Commons catering service to be accredited three stars – the highest possible rating – through the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good scheme. Participation in the scheme demonstrates Parliament’s commitment to sustainability and provides a benchmark of our performance against other organisations. Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer

16 July 2020


Accountability Report

Management Commentary Scope The House of Lords Administration presents the accounts of the House of Lords for the financial year ended 31 March 2020. The House of Lords is funded by Supply Estimates, the means by which public expenditure is authorised and voted by Parliament. The Resource Accounts contain the financial statements relating to the House of Lords’ Estimate, which includes expenses and allowances paid to Members of the House of Lords. The Estimate also includes administrative and accommodation costs, such as Administration staff costs, security, catering, estates and works services expenditure. Information is also included on the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services trading activities. Aims and Objectives For the 2019-20 financial year the strategic aim of the House of Lords Administration was to support and strengthen the House and its Members in carrying out their parliamentary functions. The strategic objectives are set out on page 4. Principal Activities The House of Lords is the second Chamber of the United Kingdom Parliament and as such is one of the busiest parliamentary chambers in the world. As a constituent part of Parliament, the House of Lords makes laws, holds Government to account, and debates issues of public interest. It plays an important part in revising legislation and scrutinising Government policy. Corporate Publications The Business Plan of the House of Lords Administration 2019-20 (HL Paper 346) was published in April 2019. It included the business plan and the financial plan for 2019-20 to 2021-22. It also included links to the Parliament’s Medium-Term Investment Plan which brings together investments in the Estate and ICT plus strategic programmes for Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, Archives Accommodation, Relocation Contingencies and the House of Commons Northern Estate. The House of Lords proportions are included in the financial plan. Financial Review The House of Lords Administration is subject to a financial remit. It originated in 2010 and is included in the Business Plan. It states that the Administration will “adhere to the savings target of not increasing the resource budget in real terms (compared with 2010-11), subject to the need to maintain the ability of the House and its Members to carry out their parliamentary functions in changing circumstances including increased attendance, and subject to exceptional adjustments reflecting property revaluations.” The Restoration and Renewal Programme is also excluded from the remit.

The financial remit implies a resource control total consisting of the 2010-11 resource budget (£102m) inflated by September’s 12–month CPI; this led to a resource control total of £119m for 2019-20. Adjusting for exceptional and technical accounting items, the Administration has met this financial remit.


Table 1 - Resource costs compared to revised financial remit baseline

2019-20 Outturn

£m

2018-19 Outturn

£m Net operating costs 138.2 157.9 Technical accounting adjustments

Property revaluation (loss)/gain (3.7) (33.9) Other costs outside the remit (24.6) (5.7)

Underlying Resource expenditure before technical accounting adjustments

109.9 118.3

Resource control total (revised) 118.9 120.6

The 2019-20 annual valuation of the Parliamentary Estate resulted in a net gain on revaluation of property, plant and equipment of £2.5m. Such movements are accounted for on a building by building basis and this created a loss on the valuation of £3.7m which was debited to net operating costs, and a gain on revaluation of land and buildings of £6.2m which was credited to the revaluation reserve.

The 2018-19 annual valuation of the Parliamentary Estate resulted in a loss on revaluation of property, plant and equipment of £88.9m. Such movements are accounted for on a building by building basis and this resulted in a loss on the valuation of £33.9m which was debited to net operating costs, and a loss on revaluation of land and buildings of £55.1m which was debited to the revaluation reserve.

Comparison of the 2019-20 outturn with the 2019-20 Estimate

The elements of Parliamentary Supply Estimates are resource and capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME). For the House of Lords in 2019-20 Parliament voted limits on:

• the net resource DEL requirement; • the net resource AME requirement; • the net capital DEL requirement; • the net cash requirement for the Estimate as a whole.

The House of Lords Administration’s outturn on net total resource (DEL and AME) for 2019-20 was £138.2m, recognising a £13.3m underspend against the revised Estimate of £151.5m, which included the House of Lords’ Supplementary Estimate.

Table 2 – Estimate against outturn

2019-20 Estimate

2019-20 Outturn

Variance

£m £m £m % Resource DEL 146.8 134.5 12.3 8.4 Resource AME 4.7 3.7 1.0 21.3 Net resource requirement 151.5 138.2 13.3 8.8 Capital DEL 63.6 53.8 9.8 15.4 Net cash requirement 199.1 173.5 25.6 12.9


The variances against the Estimate are mainly due to the following: • Resource DEL

- Restoration and Renewal programme costs were less than forecast by £5.7m; - Costs relating to Members attendance costs were £3.3m less that forecast primarily

due to a decrease in sitting days resulting from the General Election in December 2019, and a reduction in the sitting days and reduced daily attendance during the month of March linked to the due to the coronavirus;

- Centrally held funds totally £2.3m were not utilised; - Security costs were £0.6m less than forecast; - Strategic Estates related costs were £0.4m less than forecast; - Other costs were £0.1m less than expected across a variety of areas, for example,

printing and publications costs.

• Resource AME - the non-cash year end adjustment required relating to movements in the annual

valuation of the Parliamentary Estate was £1m less than forecast.

• Capital expenditure - the timing and scope of the Restoration and Renewal Programme in 2019-20 resulted

in a £1.5m underspend against the in-year budget; - Strategic Estates project spent was around £6.7m less than forecast primarily due to

risk and optimism bias budgets not being called upon in many cases (£4.3m) but also due to delays and slow progress on projects including Fielden House and various projects directly related to the Palace of Westminster;

- Digital projects were £0.7m less than forecast due to project delays; - A capital contingency fund of £0.5m was not called upon; - £0.4m of underspends occurred across other asset categories and budgets.

Cash

The net cash requirement used was £173.5m against the Estimate limit of £199.1m. The variance of £25.6m includes a capital underspend of £10.3m, a £12.4m resource cash underspend and a change in working capital at the year-end of £2.9m.

Net Assets

Net assets employed by the House of Lords increased by £41.6m to £678.5m. The increase is a result of an increase in non-current assets of £44.5m, primarily due to £54.7m of capital additions, £12.2m of depreciation, an upwards revaluation of £2.5m of the Parliamentary Estate, and a movement in working capital of £2.9m.

House of Lords Estimate

The House of Lords budget for 2020-21 was agreed by the House of Lords Commission in February 2020. The Vote on Account, which provides authority for spending on continuing services until the legislation authorising the Main Estimates obtains Royal Assent, was published in February 2020. The Main Estimate was published in May 2020 and is normally authorised by Parliament in July, when the Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act is passed.

Adoption of IFRS 16

Significant work was undertaken in preparation for the adoption of IFRS16 – Leases, which saw staff engage with HM Treasury and the House of Commons to prepare for this new standard. In March 2020 the Financial Reporting Advisory Board agreed with HM Treasury to defer the


implementation of the new standard to 1 April 2021. Subsequently, the House will change its adoption date to 1 April 2021. Significant events during the financial year

Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme has been established to tackle the significant work that needs to be done to protect and preserve the heritage of the Palace of Westminster and ensure it can continue to serve as home to the UK Parliament in the 21st century. Following the debates in both Houses in early 2018, Parliament agreed that the 'best and most cost-effective way' to carry out the restoration and renewal of the Palace in one single phase is to temporarily move out of the building.

During the year the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill, which established the statutory framework for a Sponsor Body and a Delivery Authority, passed through both Houses of Parliament. It received Royal Assent on 8 October 2019.

The House of Lords contribution from 2014-15 to date for the programme is £57.5m (2018-19: £25.7m). The majority of costs of the programme have been treated as capital (£33.0m capital, £24.5m resource) due to the direct link to the asset. More details are available via the Parliamentary website.

Coronavirus

COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020 and the UK entered a period of restricted movement on 23 March 2020, shortly before the year end. The main financial impact will occur in the 2020-21 financial year, but this has resulted in some uncertainties that have needed to be reflected in certain estimates and judgements which are set out within the accounting policies.

Significant events after the financial year end

Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster

On 8 April 2020 the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, which was established by the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019, become a substantive body six months after the Act received Royal Assent. The Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority was incorporated on 16 April 2020. Responsibility for the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme transfers from the parliamentary authorities to these independent bodies. In May 2020 the Sponsor Body announced a review of the restoration and renewal plans. The review is expected to report in autumn 2020 and will make recommendations which will be presented to the appropriate Parliamentary authorities.

Coronavirus

The budget for 2020-21 was presented to and agreed by the House of Lords Commission before the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As outlined elsewhere this has meant the Administration and the House has had to adapt to different ways of working. It is too early to assess accurately the full financial impact for 2020-21. However, it has placed considerable pressure on the delivery of projects across the estate, with work initially paused before safe working conditions could be developed. This will impact and increase the long-term cost of these projects, although the House is working to mitigate as much of the impact as possible. Other areas

https://restorationandrenewal.parliament.uk/index.html


that will be impacted financially include a reduction in income from catering & retail sales and other visitor income, temporary changes to the system of Members allowances and expenses to reflect the different way the House is operating, and the additional costs associated with enabling virtual and hybrid proceedings.

Management The Accounting Officer and, in accordance with the Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992, the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords is the Clerk of the Parliaments. The Clerk of the Parliaments is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen by Letters Patent and is ex-officio the Accounting Officer. The Clerk of the Parliaments for 2019-20 was Ed Ollard. Details of the remuneration of the Management Board of the House of Lords are contained in the Remuneration Report (see page 45).

Members of the House of Lords (except certain office holders) do not receive a salary or pension from the House. They are entitled to a daily allowance related to attendance and to recover travel and certain other expenses incurred in connection with their parliamentary duties.

Three Members as Lords Office Holders – the Lord Speaker, the Chairman of Committees (known as Senior Deputy Speaker) and the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees (known as Chair of the EU Committee) – are eligible for a salary paid from House of Lords’ funds. As at 31 March 2020 the eligible salaries were as follows:

Lord Speaker £104,360 Chairman of Committees £84,524 Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees £79,076

Lords Office Holders are also entitled to claim the Lords Office Holders Allowance of £36,366 if their main home is outside London; if their main home is in London they may claim the allowance at the reduced rate of £4,030. Lords Office Holders can also join the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund which is a statutory, defined benefit pension scheme that operates on a funded basis1.

Lords Office Holders may elect not to claim their full salary or Lords Office Holders Allowance. They may also opt out of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund. During 2019-20 Lords Office Holders claimed £262,547 in salary and £74,954 in Lords Office Holders Allowance.

Payments to Suppliers The House of Lords Administration is committed to the Better Payment Practice Code. The policy is that all bills should be paid in accordance with credit terms or, where no such terms exist, within 30 days of the receipt of the goods or services, or the presentation of a valid invoice, whichever is the later. Payments for Estates and Works Services and some other shared services are made in the first instance by the House of Commons. The calculation of payment performance for 2019-20 has been based on continuous monitoring of payments throughout the year and 95.7% (2018-19: 97.6%) of payments made by the House of Lords met the policy criteria.

Auditor The Comptroller and Auditor General is Head of the National Audit Office (NAO), the external auditor for the House of Lords. The notional audit fee for 2019-20 was £75,000 (2018-19: £70,000). The auditor was not remunerated for any further assurance or advisory services.

1 As with other Members of the House of Lords, Office Holders can also claim travel expenses from their registered residential address to Parliament. Details are available here.

http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/members-allowances/house-of-lords/holallowances/


Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 requires government departments to prepare Resource Accounts for each financial year detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of during the year and the use of resources during the year. The House of Lords Commission accounts for the House of Lords Estimate and has determined to apply by analogy the financial reporting provisions of the Act, as required for central government departments. It has delegated responsibility for the preparation of the Resource Accounts to the Clerk of the Parliaments, who is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen by Letters Patent and is ex-officio Accounting Officer for the House of Lords.

The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the House of Lords and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows for the financial year.

The Accounting Officer is responsible for preparing the House of Lords’ Resource Accounts. In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer refers to the Government Financial Reporting Manual issued by HM Treasury as applied by the House of Lords, and in particular to:

• observe the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis;

• make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis;

• state whether applicable accounting standards, as set out in the Financial Reporting Manual, have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts; and

• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

• confirm that this Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable.

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which an Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding assets, are set out in Managing Public Money, published by the HM Treasury.

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the external auditor is aware of any such information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer

16 July 2020


Governance Statement As Accounting Officer, I have responsibility for maintaining a sound system of corporate governance that supports the achievement of the policies, aims, and objectives of the House of Lords Administration, whilst safeguarding the public funds and assets for which I am personally responsible, in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to me in Managing Public Money.

In contrast to the Permanent Secretary of a Government department, I do not serve ministers but the House of Lords as a whole. In practice I account for what I do as Accounting Officer mainly through the House of Lords Commission which is appointed by the House.

Corporate governance framework in the House of Lords

The House of Lords Commission The House of Lords Commission provides high-level strategic and political direction for the House of Lords Administration on behalf of the House. In addition, the Commission agrees the annual Estimate; supervises the arrangements relating to financial support for members; works with the Management Board to develop, set and approve the strategy for the Administration, its annual business and financial plans; and monitors the performance of the Administration against agreed targets.

There are 12 members of the Commission, of whom ten are members of the House, representing the three main political parties and the Crossbench members, and two are external members. The Commission is chaired by the Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler. The Senior Deputy Speaker is the deputy chair. The full membership of the Commission is published on the Parliamentary website. Lord Judge succeeded Lord Hope of Craighead as Convenor of the Crossbench Peers in October 2019. This was the only change to the membership of the Commission in the past year.

The Commission met seven times during 2019-20. Further details of the work of the Commission, including minutes and agendas, are published on the Parliamentary website. The attendance record for individual Commission members is set out below.

Member Party/Group Meetings attended /

total possible

Lord Fowler (chair) Lord Speaker (Non-affiliated) 7/7 Baroness Doocey Liberal Democrat 6/7 Baroness Evans of Bowes Park Conservative 7/7 Lord Hope of Craighead Crossbench 3/3 Lord Judge Crossbench 4/4 Lord Laming Crossbench 6/7 Lord McFall of Alcluith (deputy chair)

Senior Deputy Speaker (Non-affiliated) 7/7

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Labour 7/7 Lord Newby Liberal Democrat 6/7 Baroness Smith of Basildon Labour 6/7 Lord Wakeham Conservative 7/7 Liz Hewitt External Member 4/7 Mathew Duncan External Member 6/7

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/house-of-lords-commission/membership/

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/362/house-of-lords-commission/publications/


Audit Committee The Audit Committee is appointed by the Commission and its membership includes five members of the House and two external members. The Committee is chaired by one of its external members, Liz Hewitt, who is also a member of the Commission. The Audit Committee considers internal and external audit reports and management responses and provides advice to me and my management team on the effectiveness of internal control. The Committee also provides advice on risk management, financial good practice, value for money, and governance.

The Audit Committee reports on its activities to the Commission, through its Chair, twice yearly. It also produces an annual report, setting out its activities over the year, which can be found in full on pages 83-88. Attendance of Audit Committee members, and details of the remuneration of the external members, Liz Hewitt and John Beckerleg, are set out in the Audit Committee’s annual report. Minutes and agendas are published on the Parliamentary website.2 The Finance Director3, the Head of Finance, the Head of Internal Audit, and I attend all Committee meetings. National Audit Office staff also attend as the House’s external auditors. The Audit Committee meets up to twice a year with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

Management Board The House of Lords Management Board provides collective leadership and takes strategic and corporate decisions for the House Administration within the policy and financial framework set by the House of Lords Commission. The Board is chaired by me and usually meets twice a month, with additional meetings and awaydays scheduled as required. One of those monthly meetings usually focussed on matters related to the Restoration and Renewal Programme.

The other members of the Board are the directors of key functions in the House of Lords (one being the Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service, a joint department of both Houses of Parliament) and two external members. Two new external members, Eric Gregory and Helen Kilpatrick, were appointed in October 2019. Mostaque Ahmed, who left the Administration in April 2019, was succeeded by Fehintola Akinlose as Finance Director in September 2019. The Parliamentary Security Director, Eric Hepburn, is also invited to attend meetings. The membership of the Board can be found on the parliamentary website.

An external review of the Management Board is expected to commence in the second half of 2020 and the Commission agreed that the review should consider:

• The structure of the current Management Board and the posts which comprise it, and in particular to offer a view on the recommendation from the report by Naomi Ellenbogen that there should be a Director General; and

• The skillsets, and in particular leadership skills, which are required to meet the Administration’s strategic challenges,

The Commission also agreed that the reviewer should also be free to comment on whether the current structure of the organisation and the way it is run could be improved.

The Board met on 21 occasions in 2019-20. The attendance record of individual Board members is shown below.

2 www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/ 3 Until the appointment of the new Finance Director, the interim Finance Director attended.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/membership/

http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-lords-administration/how-the-lords-is-run/lords-administration/house-of-lords-management-board/

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/


Board member

Meetings attended (/ total possible)

Edward Ollard (Clerk of the Parliaments) 21/21 Mostaque Ahmed (Financial Services) 1/1

Fehintola Akinlose (Financial Services) 9/10 Simon Burton (Parliamentary Services) 20/21 Eric Gregory (external member) 9/10 Helen Kilpatrick (external member) 7/10 Tracey Jessup (Parliamentary Digital Service) 18/21 Nigel Sully (Human Resources) 21/21 Jake Vaughan (Corporate Services) 21/21 Carl Woodall (Support Services) 21/21

The Board is supported by other sub-committees and groups, the membership of which includes representatives from the Management Board. These are set out in the table below:

Board or Group Status Role Digital Strategy Board

Joint sub-committee of the Lords Board and Commons Executive Board

The Digital Strategy Board (DSB) is chaired by me. It provides high level oversight of Parliament’s Digital Strategy and monitors progress towards achieving the strategy against performance measures, benefits and outcomes.

Joint Investment Board


The Joint Investment Board (JIB) is chaired by the Director General of the House of Commons. It is responsible for translating the high level investment objectives set by the two Boards into a Medium-Term Investment Plan, for in-year adjustments to programme and project funding allocations as necessary. It monitors investment portfolio risk registers and reviews project level risks escalated for resolution from the SRO and/or project board. It provides annual assurance to the Accounting Officers on the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the governance, risk management and internal control arrangements within programmes and projects across the House Administrations.

Business Resilience Group


The bicameral Business Resilience Group, which is currently chaired by Black Rod, Sarah Clarke, directs and reviews business resilience policy, strategy and implementation across both Houses and provides joint assurance to me and to the Clerk of the House of Commons in this area.

Information Authority


The bicameral Information Authority, which is co-chaired by the House of Commons and House of Lords Senior Information Risk Owners (SIROs), exists to ensure that increased benefits of parliamentary information are realised while containing the risk of inappropriate access to that information.


Business Planning Group

Sub-committee of the Lords Board

The Business Planning Group is chaired by the Reading Clerk. The Business Planning Group advises the Board on issues relating to business planning, risk management and corporate governance.

Safeguarding Board Joint sub-committee of the Lords Board and Commons Executive Board

The Safeguarding Board is chaired by the Head of the Governance Office (House of Commons). It provides oversight of all safeguarding matters and is responsible for reviewing and implementing the Safeguarding Policy. It assists me to fulfil the responsibility of the House as outlined in the Policy.

Parliamentary Safety Assurance Board


The Parliamentary Safety Assurance Board (PSAB) is jointly chaired by the Director of Facilities (House of Lords) and Head of Governance Office (House of Commons). PSAB provides leadership and proactive strategic direction in relation to the management of safety, fire & food safety risks for both Houses.

Human Resources (HR) Group

Sub-committee of the Lords Board

The HR Group is chaired by the HR Director. It provides insight and input into matters of the development of HR policy and practice. It oversees the implementation of the House of Lords Administration’s People Strategy, HR Business Plan, key people-related initiatives and policy changes and mitigation of HR risks and reports to the Board as appropriate.

The Director of Security for Parliament (DSP) is responsible for the strategy, planning and overall delivery of security across the Parliamentary Estate. The DSP holds the Lords security budget, owns the corporate security risk and, as noted, is invited to attend all Board meetings.

The Management Board considers a number of regular items at its meetings including the corporate risk register and updates on finance, projects and programmes, as well as progress against the Administration’s Inclusion and Diversity action plan. The Board agrees the strategy, business plans, and financial plans for approval by the Commission.

Strategy for the House of Lords administration During 2018-19, a refresh of the Strategy for the House of Lords Administration for 2016-21 was undertaken, in order to take into account changes to the strategic landscape since it was launched in January 2017. The refreshed Strategy for 2019-25 was agreed by the Commission in May 2019 and launched in June 2019, and provides a strategic framework for the Administration and the delivery of its services. The Strategy is supplemented by the annual corporate Business Plan which is prepared before the beginning of each financial year. The annual Business Plan is informed by the Strategy and annual office business plans, which are scrutinised in detail on behalf of the Board by the Business Planning Group. The Strategy, corporate Business Plan and previous annual reports can be found on the Parliamentary website. At the time of writing the Business Plan for 2020-21 is being reviewed in the light of the impact on business planning resulting from COVID-19.

Financial and business planning Financial planning operates on an annual cycle, which is coordinated with the House of Commons, with a three-year horizon, integrated with business planning and the public spending cycle. The Commission and the Finance Committee are involved with the financial planning process throughout.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-lords-administration/how-the-lords-is-run/business-and-financial-information/business-plans-annual-reports-and-accounts/


Risk and Control Framework Assurance Framework As Accounting Officer I receive formal assurance on the effectiveness of internal controls from three internal sources: the Internal Audit function, senior managers within the Administration, and the Audit Committee; and from various external sources, including the National Audit Office and the House of Commons. The role of the Audit Committee is set out above, and more detail is available in the Committee’s annual report on pages 83-88.

Internal Audit House of Lords Internal Audit operates to UK Public Sector Internal Audit Standards. An external review of the internal audit function was carried out in 2019 by the Heads of Internal Audit from the Scottish Parliament and Ordnance Survey, which gave a positive assessment on the internal audit processes in the House of Lords. The review concluded that “the Internal Audit function fully conforms with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards”.

The annual internal audit work programme is considered by the Audit Committee at the start of each financial year, following approval by the Management Board. The programme contains reviews of operations within the Administration and in shared service areas. Coverage of the latter is coordinated between the internal audit functions of the two Houses with all reports shared.

At the end of each financial year, the Head of Internal Audit provides me with an annual opinion on the strength of arrangements for governance, risk management, and internal control. The Head of Internal Audit provided moderate assurance on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of these arrangements for 2019-20 and advised that there is an effective system of internal control in the majority of areas for which I have direct responsibility.

The Head of Internal Audit suggested that scope and scale of the Strategic Estates portfolio will continue to present significant challenges in the future, but pointed to some positive signs of improvement in this area. He also raised concerns about cyber security assurance, certain aspects of statutory health and safety compliance on the parliamentary estate, and compliance in human resources with the principles of data protection legislation . He further noted the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic and the need to maintain close interest in the R&R programme now that the Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority are substantive bodies. I take these concerns seriously and will monitor progress closely during the year ahead.

Senior managers

Senior managers provide me with assurance on effective internal controls, in part through the risk management framework. Further details on the risk management framework are set out below. Senior managers also provide me with letters of assurance, completed at the end of each financial year. These provide me with assurance on the strength of control in each office within the Administration and set out any issues encountered during the year, including plans to address these issues. This year specific assurance on the interface with Restoration and Renewal was obtained from each office. A challenge and validation process takes place, coordinated by the Head of Internal Audit and the Board Secretary.

External assurances There are some significant areas of expenditure for which I am responsible but for which day-to-day operational control and financial management has been devolved to external parties. For these areas I seek additional assurance as follows:


• The calculation of certain shared service costs and shared asset values is undertaken in the House of Commons and incorporated into the House of Lords Resource Accounts. I have received an assurance from the Accounting Officer of the House of Commons regarding the adequacy of the accounting systems used to determine this information;

• Charges under the Metropolitan Police Service Special Services Agreement include direct and indirect costs, and an apportionment of Metropolitan Police overheads. I have obtained written assurance from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) concerning the probity of these charges; and

• Under the scheme for providing financial assistance to opposition parties – generally referred to as Cranborne Money – I have no direct control over the expenditure involved but am provided annually with professional audit certificates by the opposition parties and by the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers. These confirm that the financial assistance was used for the purposes intended by Parliament.

Risk Management Framework The risk management framework is an important component of the assurance provided to me by senior managers. A revised risk management framework was agreed by the Board in January 2020. The corporate risks as of March 2020 are:

1. Cyber security 2. Physical security 3. Staffing 4. Information 5. Stakeholder 6. Infrastructure 7. Finance 8. Restoration and Renewal 9. Health and safety

Cyber security, physical security, and health and safety are bicameral risks.

Each corporate risk has a nominated risk owner on the Management Board. These officials are responsible for ensuring that the risks allocated to them are managed effectively and for reporting relevant risk information to the Management Board.

All House of Lords Offices are required to maintain office-level risk registers; these are the primary means by which Heads of Office report on the management of risk. The Offices are supported by the Risk Manager in keeping risk registers up to date, accurate and meaningful. The Business Planning Group analyses quarterly risk register returns and escalates risks to Board members, where appropriate.

The Audit Committee provides advice on the effectiveness of the risk management system to me as Accounting Officer. The Committee receives updates from the Reading Clerk in his capacity as Board-level risk champion and he also regularly attends the Audit Committee. Assurance is also provided to the House of Lords Commission through twice yearly reports by the Audit Committee chair and in its annual report.

Infrastructure, projects and programmes The Palace of Westminster continues to be the site of intensive works. Much of this work is needed to maintain the building’s fabric, such as the programmes to repair the cast-iron roofs, to conserve Westminster Hall, and to refurbish the Elizabeth Tower. Other work is needed to ensure the safety of those who work in Parliament, such as the Fire Life Safety Programme. The


Board continued to monitor the portfolio of projects and programmes through monthly reporting and these reports are also shared with the Finance Committee. The Joint Investment Board (JIB) continued to exercise its portfolio investment and delivery assurance role throughout the year by ensuring a specific focus on key areas.

The House of Lords relies on the bicameral teams hosted in the House of Commons to deliver most of these services. At the end of the year the In-House Services and Strategic Estates teams in the House of Commons were merged to create a new team, In-House Services and Estates. A new Managing Director for that team took up post in March 2020.

JIB provides specific assurance in relation to the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the governance, risk management and internal control arrangements within programmes and projects. JIB requires all Category A programmes and standalone projects to have independent assurance determined by their Integrated Assurance and Approvals Plans. 2019/20 saw all Category A projects receive level 3 assurance through an Audit or Gateway Reviews, including specialist reviews to support the Shadow Sponsor Body.

Information security The Reading Clerk, as Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO), is responsible for Information risk at Board level. The Reading Clerk co-chairs the Information Authority with his counterpart SIRO from the Commons. The Information Authority was established in January 2017 and has delegated responsibility from, and is accountable to, the two Boards in respect of information management, security and assurance. It continues to provides a useful forum within which the individual risk owners for information security, cyber security, and physical and personnel security co-ordinate their work and strategic direction, and take decisions cutting across risk boundaries.

In Autumn 2019, GDPR internal audits were carried out in each House. Management actions have been agreed in response to the House of Lords audit, the majority of which fall to the Information Compliance Team to take forward in conjunction with relevant offices during the coming year. The Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) in each House met to discuss the audits and agree shared actions. The Information Authority is overseeing the response to the shared actions.

New guidance for handling potential personal data breaches was published. A limited number of information and equipment loss reports were received in the House of Lords. None of the incidents met the requirement to report to the Information Commissioner.

In addition, a new Parliamentary Protective Marking Scheme (PPMS) was rolled out across the Administration in September 2019. The scheme signposts and supports staff in protecting our information and helps prevent information being shared inappropriately.

The Information Authority has examined information management and security of major projects and programmes and has worked to address key concerns and risks in this area. Discussions took place with officials from the Sponsor Body concerning the transfer of data to the Restoration and Renewal Programme when that body became substantive in April 2020, and a data sharing agreement was signed by the Corporate Officers of both Houses and the CEO of the Sponsor Body.

In providing assurance to me as Accounting Officer the SIRO has sought assurance in the area of information security from each House of Lords Office and from the Parliamentary Digital Service. This includes assurance that actions have been taken to manage information security and to ensure good records management. The return noted that earlier engagement with these office returns would provide a greater opportunity to provide challenges to Offices, and this will be done in future years.


Security The Director of Security for Parliament has strategic responsibility for all physical and personnel security. He works closely with the Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service and her Cyber Security team to ensure a joined-up approach that looks at physical, operational, personnel and cyber security risks holistically. On 4 November 2019, the overall level of threat to the UK from terrorism was reduced to Substantial, which means that an attack is likely.

It has been a difficult security landscape in the past year with challenges including the current COVID-19 pandemic, public protests surrounding Parliamentary business and Brexit and the Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority for Restoration and Renewal becoming substantive, legally separate, bodies. These very different pressures have required PSD, along with colleagues across Parliament, the Metropolitan Police Service and Government, to demonstrate great agility in responding to new challenges.

The Parliamentary Security Strategy 2019-2025 was endorsed by the boards and Commissions of both Houses in early 2019 and will guide Parliament’s approach to security over a five-year period. There are six strategic objectives, some of which are to be implemented primarily by PSD, others to be implemented by teams across Parliament.

Priorities for 2020-21 include the continued delivery of security projects; the provision of expert security advice to support other projects and programmes (particularly the House of Commons Northern Estate Programme (NEP), R&R and the House of Commons Moves Programme); and implementing recommendations from policing and security operations reviews to ensure a fit for purpose, future-proofed security operation is in place which can effectively respond to changing risks and requirements.

Cyber security The Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service has strategic responsibility for cyber security. The Cyber capability programme and Parliament’s Cyber Team are in the midst of analysing the current cyber function and its ability to respond to the challenges of a modern Parliament, increasing threat, integration of new technologies related to the R & R programme and the continued increase in the range of digital services offered by the Parliamentary Digital Service.

The cyber risk to Parliament as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is continually being assessed as the context evolves. This has been necessary given the rapid move to much more widespread remote working and virtual sittings of the House and its committees.

Parliament’s information and digital professionals have supported the rapid evaluation, accreditation and rollout of systems including MS Teams, which has quickly proven itself essential for remote working, and Zoom, for broadcasting purposes. Guidance for Members and staff has been issued to support safe remote working.

Business Resilience Work in this area is undertaken by the bicameral Resilience & Emergency Planning (REP) Team. The Team’s work is overseen by the Business Resilience Group, the chair of which rotated in January 2020 from the Managing Director of In-House Services in the House of Commons to Black Rod, with the Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons as Deputy Chair. The Chair will rotate again in the next 1-2 years as agreed between the Serjeant and Black Rod. The Chair of the BRG provided a moderate level of assurance of the overall business resilience arrangements across both Houses.


An internal audit report provided a substantial level of assurance on business continuity plans in the House of Lords. Business Continuity Plans have been stood up in the Administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have proved to be effective. Work is also underway to capture the experiences and solutions from teams in the House during the pandemic.

The incident management team (IMT) was stood up on 11 occasions during the year, including for Extinction Rebellion protests. After large-scale incidents, or following any incident where issues of concern have been flagged, a review has been undertaken and lessons acted upon. The Annual Review of the Business Resilience Policy and Strategy and Incident Management Framework were undertaken and were signed off by the Business Resilience Group in January and May 2020 respectively.

Health and safety The Parliamentary Safety Assurance Board (PSAB) provides leadership and proactive strategic direction in relation to the management of safety, fire and food safety risks for both Houses. It also provides assurance to me, and my counterpart in the Commons, that our commitments in the combined safety policy are being correctly discharged, that there are appropriate systems and processes in place to enable robust safety risk management, and that senior leaders are exercising due diligence and effective leadership on health and safety.

In May 2020 it provided assurance reports for 2019-20 from all Offices across the Administration, which can be summarised as follows:

• fire safety risk management: moderate assurance. This is because of the need to ensure that the risks to mobility impaired persons are adequately managed, and improvements needed in the level of take up of fire safety training by Members and their staff.

• health and safety: safety risks on the parliamentary estate encompass work activities with very differing frequencies, patterns of occurrence and severities, resulting in a wide and complex safety risk portfolio. To reflect this diversity, PSAB have given assurance in the following areas:

(a) Substantial assurance; Safety risk management of large-scale events is effective and proportional to the complexity of the activity. Similarly, low risk, high frequency activities are also effectively managed.

(b) Moderate assurance: Improvements have been made in progressing the culture, leadership and ownership strands of the strategy and in relation to compliance with statutory testing of plant and machinery.

(c) Limited assurance: Whilst progress has been made to manage the risks arising from the management of construction activities, there are gaps in defining what needs to be done and some reported incidents this year have resulted from non-compliances.

• food safety: substantial assurance for risk management handling and allergen management.


Governance developments

Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster In February 2018 both Houses agreed motions to vacate the Palace of Westminster in order to undertake essential works to the building. This option – a single phase evacuation of all MPs, Peers and staff from both Houses – was recommended by the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster in its report in September 2016, as the lowest risk, most cost-effective and quickest means to undertake the works. The motions also authorised the House Administrations to establish a shadow sponsor body to oversee the work of a shadow delivery authority, pending the passage of the legislation required to establish both bodies on a statutory footing. The Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill was introduced in May 2019 and received Royal Assent on 8 October 2019. That Act made provision for the statutory formation of a Sponsor Body and this came into substantive existence in April 2020. The shadow Sponsor Body met throughout 2019 and early 2020 ahead of the transition to substantive form.

Detailed discussions between the sponsor body and two Houses took place before the formal transition. These included agreeing the allocation of risk ownership during the period of the programme, and a risk user group has been established which will consider any further matters which arise in that area. These discussions included agreeing the text of the Parliamentary Relationship Agreement, which sets out the working relationship and responsibilities of the two Houses and the Sponsor Body. It was endorsed by the Boards and Commissions in both Houses and the Shadow Sponsor Board before it was signed by the Clerks of both Houses together with Sarah Johnson, CEO of the Sponsor Body, in April 2020. Additional subsidiary documents have also been signed.

The Sponsor Board was established as an independent statutory body on 8 April and met the same day. It announced in May that it would carry out a strategic review of the Restoration and Renewal programme. Preliminary findings are expected in July 2020 with a full report in the autumn. Workplace culture In July 2019 Naomi Ellenbogen QC published her report following the inquiry into bullying and harassment in the House of Lords. The report made a number of recommendations, including setting up a Steering Group for Change to advise the Commission and Management Board on how to respond to the other recommendations. The Steering Group was established in the autumn of 2019 with a mixture of Peers and staff as members of the group. As well as providing advice on how the Commission and the Board respond to the report and the steps required to make the Administration a better place to work, a key aim of the Group is to provide a forum for staff and Members to talk frankly about common issues. All members of the Management Board have attended all-staff meetings to discuss the recommendations and other issues which have arisen from the publication of the report. Staff have received monthly updates on the progress of the Administration’s work to improve workplace culture and the status of each of Naomi Ellenbogen’s recommendations, and it is anticipated that a formal review, as recommended in the report, will be initiated in July 2020. The Board has continued to focus on measures to improve the workplace culture. In particular, it has identified four workstreams to make the House of Lords a better place to work:

• Working With Members Creating a more open and professional dialogue with members


• Engaging Inclusively How the Board consults on policy formation, how staff ideas and concerns are dealt with and how staff are made aware of corporate developments and the business of the House

• Clearer Career Choices Developing clearer career pathways which show what different roles in the Administration require and what they offer

• Breaking Down Barriers Building cross-departmental collaboration and understanding

Work has continued on the implementation of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. A bicameral team supports the Scheme and a Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed between the two Houses. A review of the Scheme is expected later in 2020 which will give an opportunity to reflect on the progress made and make recommendations for changes to the Scheme. I and the Management Board take creating an inclusive and supportive culture in the Administration very seriously. The Board held a workshop in February 2020 where the current working culture and aspirational target culture of the Administration were discussed, and we remain focussed on working to deliver those improvements. COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact. It required the House and the Administration to develop new ways of working, to very tight timescales, to ensure that the House could continue to perform its functions. These included creating new technical platforms to enable the House and its committees to meet virtually using digital technology, and substantial adaptations to the operation of the physical estate, enabling the development of a hybrid model which entails some Members attending physically in Westminster and some participating remotely. The primary concern of the Management Board has been the health and wellbeing of our staff, both in terms of the safety of the staff who are required to attend the House and in ensuring that those working remotely are properly supported. The two Houses have worked closely throughout this period including through a bicameral COVID-19 group which co-ordinated responses in areas of obvious joint interest, including access and security, signage around the Estate to take account of social distancing, and ensuring that staff and Members could continue to work safely with the new restrictions in place. Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer

16 July 2020


Climate change, sustainability and the environment Introduction

This section follows – as far as possible and to the extent it is appropriate – the template and guidance issued to Government departments in HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual. All the data (including expenditure) relate to Parliament as a whole. Below, we report on trends in our greenhouse gas emissions; waste and recycling, and water consumption. In 2010 we set long-term targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and the amount of waste we produce, and to increase the rate of waste recycling. In each case the baseline year was 2008-09 while the final target year is 2020-21. Intermediate targets were calculated on a straight-line basis. Targets have occasionally been recalibrated when the size of the Parliamentary Estate has changed, for example when we have acquired a new building. The 2020-21 financial year is the final year for our current long-term targets. These are currently under review, and new targets will be agreed ready for the 2021-22 financial year. Sustainable procurement

Sustainability considerations are increasingly being incorporated into our procurement activity. For example, the Vote Office is focusing on minimising packaging waste, while the Digital Service is ensuring that – as far as is practicable – power efficiency is maximised while electronic and electrical waste considerations and the associated carbon impact are minimised. The coming year will also see closer working between the Environmental Sustainability Team and the Procurement Service to make further progress in meeting the goals of their environmentally sustainable policy statement. Greenhouse gas emissions in 2019-20

The main source of Parliament’s carbon dioxide emissions is from the consumption of gas and electricity across the Estate. Parliament procures its electricity from 100% renewable sources. The energy that we consume is converted into tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent using the 2019 conversion factors provided by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for April to December 2019, then the 2020 conversion factors for January to March 2020. Parliament’s long-term target is to reduce absolute carbon dioxide emissions resulting from energy use by 34% between the 2008-09 baseline and March 2021. In order to be on track to meet this long-term target, emissions should have fallen by 31.3% by the end of 2019-20. In fact, we have now achieved a 40.3% reduction relative to the baseline, exceeding both the target for this year and the long-term target.


GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Non-Financial Indicators (tCO2e)

Total Gross Emissions for Scopes 1 & 2. 17,550 16,343 13,176 13,104

Total Net Emissions for Scopes 1 & 2. (i.e. fewer green tariffs)

10,760 16,343 13,176 5,491

Gross emissions Scope 3 business travel 1,952 1,434 1,908 1,141

Related Energy Consumption (million kWh)

Electricity: Non-Renewable 27.2 28.32 26.68 0.86 Electricity: Renewable 0.93 0 0.01 28.08 Gas 29.21 29.94 27.26 28.60

Financial Indicators (£’000s)

Expenditure on Energy 3,996 4,020 5,124 3,946 Expenditure on accredited offsets 0 0 0 0

Expenditure on official business travel 5,398 4,734 5,074 3,157

Glossary The following scopes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are defined in HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual:

Scope 1: Direct emissions of greenhouse gases Scope 2: Energy indirect emissions Scope 3: Emissions as a result of official business travel. This includes the travel of Members and officials of both Houses on parliamentary business but not travel to and from homes / constituencies and Westminster.

tCO2e: tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent kWh: kilowatt hours Note Figures for hotel usage are included in the expenditure on official business travel and gross emissions Scope 3 business travel.

Recent activity to improve energy efficiency

All projects and programmes are required to identify environmental impacts to identify potential carbon savings. The Environmental Sustainability team act as a key stakeholder and provide technical and legal advice on major refurbishments through their representation on a wide range of boards and working groups, including Restoration & Renewal, the Northern Estate Programme and the Estate Wide Engineering Infrastructure and Resilience Programme. Parliament is committed to achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings for new builds and major refurbishments and ‘Very Good’ ratings for major refurbishments of heritage / listed buildings. Achieving a reduction in Parliament’s direct carbon emissions (scope 1 and 2) continues to be a priority, but, where appropriate, procurement specifications are used to encourage and specify requirements for reductions in our supply chain. Work to measure and ultimately manage carbon in the supply chain (scope 3 carbon) is currently being piloted by the R&R Programme using a template developed by the Environmental Sustainability team. As scope 3 carbon is a significant and critical element of Parliament’s carbon reduction targets, the pilot work will be assessed to see how it could be used more widely.


WASTE

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Non Financial Indicators (tonnes)

Total waste 1,778 1,959 1,495 1,558 Hazardous waste Total 4 7 8 6

Non-hazardous waste Landfill 0 0 0 0

Reused/ Recycled/ Recovered

1,132 1,223 888 1,076

Incinerated/ energy from waste

641 728 599 476


Total disposal cost4

539 415 432 606

Hazardous waste - Total disposal cost

7 16 18 38

Non-hazardous waste - Total disposal cost

Landfill 0 0 0 0

Reused/ Recycled 89 207 222 212

Incinerated/ energy from waste

73 191 189 159

Waste in 2019-20

In line with the regulatory requirements of the waste hierarchy, the first priority of any waste management programme is to avoid the creation of waste, with reusing and recycling waste being the next best options. UK Parliament operates with a zero waste to landfill policy. Our general office waste is disposed of by incineration at an energy-from-waste facility. We continue to prioritise achieving a reduction in waste generation and improvements in recycling rates. Our long-term target is to reduce the amount of waste generated (measured by weight) by 30% by 2020-21, relative to the 2008-09 baseline. To be on track to meet this target, we should have achieved a reduction of 28% by the end of 2019-20. The actual figure achieved was 22.4%, so we are currently below target. We recycled 69% of our waste (measured by weight) in 2019-20. Our long-term target is to reach a recycling rate of 75% by 2020-21. We are on course to meet our long-term target for reducing waste generated. Whilst good progress has been made and we are likely to be recycling over 70% of our waste, external influences may affect our ability to meet our 75% target by the end of 2020-21. Performance against our target for reducing the volume of waste generated has been mixed this year. There were increases in the volume of waste produced in the autumn as a result of the General Election, when Members of the House of Commons who stand down or are not returned typically have large amounts of paperwork to dispose of securely. On a more positive note, this

4 The total disposal cost included other charges such as management fees, equipment costs and vehicle movements that cannot be attributed to the specific waste streams shown in the rows below


also resulted in the highest single monthly figure for the proportion of waste recycled, which was around 80%. Recent activity to reduce waste and increase recycling In May 2018, Parliament announced a comprehensive range of steps to drastically reduce its consumption of single-use plastics. While the majority of these initiatives were implemented in 2018/19, the remaining initiative was introduced in this financial year. This was the phase out of plastic carrier bags from retail outlets across the Parliamentary Estate. These were replaced with paper or other alternatives where this was feasible saving approximately 40,000 plastic bags a year. Since replacing the non-recyclable catering disposable items such as take-away boxes, soup containers, take-away cups and cutlery with sustainably sourced, plant-based and certified compostable alternatives, and introducing a new waste stream to collect these items, we have diverted 21 tonnes of waste from incineration and sent it for composting instead. Ongoing promotion of the ‘right waste, right bin’ messaging has been taking place to encourage positive outcomes in relation to waste and recycling. This includes a refresh of the messaging using different communication channels, including awareness stands, newsletter articles and electronic screens. Training on the segregation of waste has been ongoing with those responsible for transferring and consolidating waste on the Parliamentary Estate. An initial pilot audit of office waste segregation took place in March 2020. It is intended that these will be undertaken further across the Estate as part of an engagement exercise and reduce incorrectly disposed of waste in the compostable and recycling waste streams. Minimising waste also featured as one of the categories in an assessment of the Catering teams of both Houses as part of the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s ‘Food Made Good’ standard. We achieved high scores in the categories of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ and ‘waste no food’ compared to the SRA average and other similar organisations we were benchmarked against. The Environmental Sustainability team have been supporting the programmes and projects responsible for upcoming decants of the Estate ensuring waste and recycling provisions are considered in all refurbishments.

FINITE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION – Water

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Non-Financial Indicators (m3)

Water Consumption Supplied 91,567 77,467 87,595 64,395

Abstracted 94,793 107,055 160,622 154,953


Water Supply Costs

204 324 231 338

Water consumption in 2019-20

Parliament’s long-term target for water use is to reduce the volume used by 50% by March 2021, relative to the 2008-09 baseline. In order to meet this target, our 2019-20 water use should have fallen by 46.2% by the end of 2019-20. The actual figure achieved was a 32.2% reduction, so we are behind the target.


Abstracted borehole water accounted for 70% of total water use across the Parliamentary Estate in 2019-20 year and has a significantly lower negative environmental impact than mains water supply. The main driver of Parliament’s consumption of abstracted water is cooling for Portcullis House. There was a significant increase in water consumption during 2018-19 due to additional demand on the water for cooling because of the exceptionally warm weather in 2018. In 2019 there were several issues found with the boreholes including damaged controllers, sensor issues and scheduling issues which caused the system to abstract water unnecessarily. These issues have now been rectified, and the expectation is that 2020-21 should see a reduction in borehole water use in Portcullis House that will move us closer to our target. Recent developments in reducing water consumption

The Northern Estate Programme and Restoration and Renewal will use borehole water for cooling, and grey water from the boreholes will also be used. This could increase abstraction rates, although there are plans to reinject the used water directly back into the aquifer. This will have a lower environmental impact than using electrical cooling and ventilation, since water is a renewable resource which, once abstracted from the ground, will replenish. Automated meter readers have been installed across the Parliamentary Estate which enable the Environmental Sustainability team to monitor mains water usage closely, identifying instances of high consumption which may be leaks and require urgent action.


Diversity and corporate responsibility report The House of Lords Administration is committed to providing a positive and inclusive working environment. During 2019-20 we completed many of the actions from the 2019-21 Focus on Inclusion action plan. Completed actions included launching and implementing a ‘Press Pause’ pilot, launching an inclusion calendar, and introducing inclusion and diversity awards as a way to celebrate inclusion and diversity. This has resulted in greater awareness and commitment to inclusion across the Administration, with 68% of staff agreeing in a survey that the House of Lords has become more inclusive. There is still much progress that can be made to improve inclusion, diversity and our corporate culture. Work will continue to be made on the Focus on Inclusion action plan with the goal of embedding inclusion and diversity within the Administration.

The Administration has also received validation and recognition through external benchmarks. For example, it has been placed at No. 28 in the UK Top 50 Inclusive Employers Award and attained the National Gold Standard for Inclusion, a higher score from last year and the first UK organisation to achieve this. The Administration also entered the Stonewall Index of LGBT inclusive workplaces for the first time this year, at 64th on this year’s list - the highest-ranking new entry.

2019 gender and ethnicity pay gap report

In March 2020 the Administration published its third gender pay gap report. The mean gender pay gap outside the senior pay grades – a large majority of the House of Lords Administration’s staff – was 1.7% (having fallen from 2.4% in our 2018 gender pay gap report). The lack of women in the senior grades in the House of Lords Administration means that the overall mean gender pay gap (total of all the salaries paid to male and female members of staff of the Administration divided by the number of posts held by each) was 11.9%, compared to 13.1% in 2018. The median pay gap, representing the middle of the range of salaries paid to men and women, was lower at 4.0%. This was also a decrease from 7.3% in the 2018 gender pay gap report. The Administration is committed to addressing the gender imbalance at senior grades by investing in leadership development, committing to working differently, and developing inclusive recruitment guidance.

The Administration also published its first ethnicity pay gap report alongside the gender pay gap report. The mean ethnicity pay gap is 27.8% and the median pay gap is 26.5%. The most prominent reason for the gap is the representation of BAME employees throughout the pay grades. 66.4% of employees within HL1-5 are BAME, only 20.5% in HL6-9 and 1.9% in the senior band grades. Overall in the House of Lords Administration, 17.9% of employees (who have declared their ethnicity) are BAME. The representation of BAME employees in HL1-3 and HL5 exceeds this proportion and the percentage of white employees in this grade is consequentially lower than the average percentage of white representation.

The Board and I were concerned at the pay gap data and recognise the need to make further improvement in this area, including by:

• Launching our Leadership Development Programme • Creating wider job shadowing opportunities, to ensure colleagues are aware of career

opportunities within the Administration; • Extending the ‘Press Pause’, an initiative when recruitment campaigns can be ‘paused’ to

ensure they have the best chance of reaching diverse audiences; • Developing an inclusive sponsorship programme; • Signing up to the ‘Business in the Community - Race at Work Charter’ and implementing

relevant recommendations;


• Continuing to improve diversity data disclosure rates to further understand the make-up of our organisation.

The Workplace Equality Networks

There are five Parliament-wide Workplace Equality Networks (WENs) which provide an opportunity for groups of people to discuss and consider issues relevant to their situation or of interest to them: ParliAble (disability), ParliGENDER (gender equality), ParliOUT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, and questioning), ParliREACH (race, ethnicity and cultural heritage) and ParliON (social mobility). A new WEN, ParliCARE, which aims to offer support and advice for all staff with caring responsibilities, is expected to be launched in May. The WENs undertake a wide range of initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, such as reverse mentoring (ParliREACH), educational and social events and providing feedback on diversity analyses. The Administration continues to support the work of the WENs.

Diversity statistics for House of Lords staff appointments

Age Applicants Shortlisted Successful 16 – 24 31.5% 22.7% 13.7% 25 – 34 31.4% 33.5% 42.5% 35 – 44 13.6% 14.2% 17.1% 45 – 54 9.8% 13.3% 12.3% 55+ 5.6% 7.8% 6.2% Not Specified 8.1% 8.5% 8.2%

Gender Applicants Shortlisted Successful Female 49.4% 54.1% 57.5% Male 43.5% 39.1% 36.3%

Non-Binary/Self Describes 0.4% 0.4% 0%

Not Specified 6.7% 6.4% 6.2%

Ethnicity Applicants Shortlisted Successful White 58.4% 68.7% 74.6% Asian 16.2% 11.7% 6.2% Black 10.7% 7.4% 6.8% Other 6.5% 4.7% 4.8% Not Specified 8.2% 7.5% 7.6%

Corporate Responsibility

The House of Lords has adopted a sustainable procurement policy which takes into account the social and environmental impact of purchasing choices. Parliament's Sustainable Purchasing policy has been in place since 2015 and is continually evolving in order to accommodate new developments in business areas. The policy sets out the principles that are applied by the Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service each time a procurement exercise is being planned to ensure that the values important to us are complied with by our suppliers and contractors. This includes paying contractors working on our premises the London Living Wage, engaging apprentices and ring-fencing certain contracts for Social Enterprises, and including Diversity and Inclusion requirements in the evaluation criteria.


Remuneration and Staff Report Remuneration Report

The Clerk of the Parliaments, Ed Ollard, is head of the House of Lords Administration. He is the Accounting Officer and, under the Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992, he is also the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords. The Clerk of the Parliaments is supported by a Management Board, which he chairs. The membership of the Management Board is designed to reflect the wide range of services provided to the House and its Members. In 2019-20 members were as follows:

• Ed Ollard – Clerk of the Parliaments • Simon Burton – Clerk Assistant • Jake Vaughan – Reading Clerk • Nigel Sully – Director of Human Resources • Fehintola Akinlose – Finance Director (from 30 September 2019) • Mostaque Ahmed – Finance Director (to 30 April 2019) • Carl Woodall – Director of Facilities • Tracey Jessup – Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary

Digital Service • Eric Gregory – external member (from 18 October 2019) • Helen Kilpatrick – external member (from 18 October 2019)

The Clerk of the Parliaments is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen by Letters Patent. He can be removed from office only by the Sovereign upon an address of the House of Lords for that purpose. The Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk are appointed by the Lord Speaker, subject to the approval of the House, and can be removed from office only by order of the House. The Gentleman or Lady Usher of the Black Rod is appointed formally by the Crown following a recruitment exercise conducted by the Clerk of the Parliaments. All other staff are appointed and removable by the Clerk of the Parliaments as Corporate Officer of the House of Lords. Remuneration policy The salary of the Clerk of the Parliaments is linked to Judicial Salary Group 4. Pay for other Management Board members is broadly in line with the pay bands used in the Senior Civil Service, and pay awards are performance-related. Pay multiples5 Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the highest-paid director in their organisation and the median remuneration of the organisation’s workforce. The banded remuneration of the highest-paid director in the House of Lords in the financial year 2019-20 was £185-190,000 (2018-19: £185-190,000). This was 5.9 times (2018-19: 6.0) the median remuneration of the workforce, which was £31,737 (2018-19: £31,150).

5 This information has been subject to audit.


In 2019-20 no (2018-19, nil) employee received remuneration in excess of the highest-paid director. Remuneration ranged from £20,762 to £190,000 (2018-19: £20,157-£190,000). Total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay and benefits-in-kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions. Salary and pension entitlements The salary and benefits in kind of the Management Board were as follows: Salary NCPRP Benefits

in kind Pension

Benefits Total

(£’000) (£’000) (to nearest£100)

(£’000) (£’000)

2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 Ed Ollard 185-190 185-190 N/A N/A - - 60 60 250-255 245-250

Simon Burton 115-120 110-115 - - - - 81 76 195-200 185-190

Jake Vaughan

95-100 90-95 - - - - 51 47 145-150 135-140

Nigel Sully

90-95 90-95 - - - - 37 35 130-135 125-130

Fehintola Akinlose (from 30 September 2019)

45-50 (95-100 full

year equivalent)

- - - - - 19 - 65-70 -

Mostaque Ahmed (until 30 April 2019)

5-10

(90-95 full year

equivalent)

90-95

-

-

200

2,000

4

79

10-15

170-175

Carl Woodall 105-110 105-110 - - - - 42 416 150-155 145-150

Tracey Jessup

115-120 105-110 - - - - 72 106 185-190 210-215

Jane May (from 1 May 2017 until 9 March 2019)

- 5-10 - - - 1,300 - - - 10-15

Eric Gregory (from 18 October 2019)

5-10 (10-15 full

year equivalent)

- - - - - - - 5-10 -

Helen Kilpatrick (from 18 October 2019)

5-10 (10-15 full

year equivalent)

- - - 400 - - - 5-10 -

This information has been subject to audit. Salary ‘Salary’ includes gross salary, overtime, reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances, recruitment and retention allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. The report is based on accrued payments made by the House and thus recorded in these accounts. NCPRP The Non-Consolidated Performance Related Payments (NCPRPs) are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process. NCPRPs relate to the year in which they are paid i.e. the NCPRPs reported in

6 The figures for 2018-19 were restated by the pension scheme provider due to a change in the scheme’s interpretation of annual allowance legislation and how the nuvos Pension Input Amount (PIA) after members moved into alpha has been calculated.


2019-20 relate to performance in 2018-19 and the comparative NCPRPs reported for 2018-19 relate to performance in 2017-18. The Clerk of the Parliaments is not eligible for NCPRP. Benefits in kind The monetary value of benefits in kind covers any benefits provided by the House of Lords and treated by HM Revenue and Customs as taxable emolument. In 2019-20 Mostaque Ahmed received £169 childcare vouchers (2018-19 £2,028). In 2019-20 Helen Kilpatrick received £423 relating to expenses for travel for board and associated meetings. In 2018-19 Jane May received £1,294 expenses relating to travel for board and associated meetings. Pension Benefits The value of pension benefits accrued during the year is calculated as (the real increase in pension multiplied by 20) plus (the real increase in any lump sum) less (the contributions made by the individual). The real increases exclude increases due to inflation or any increase or decreases due to transfer pension rights. Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service The salary and pension benefits for the Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service are paid directly by the House of Commons and recharged to the House of Lords at a rate of 30%. The salary and pension benefits disclosed represent the total remuneration package paid between the two Houses. Pensions The pension benefits of the Management Board were as follows:

Accrued pension and related lump sum at

31/3/20

Real increase in pension and related lump sum at 31/3/20

CETV at

31/3/20

CETV at

31/3/19

Real increase/

(decrease) in CETV

£000 £000 £000 £000 revised

£000

Ed Ollard 75-80 Plus lump sum of 230-235

2.5-5 Plus lump sum of 7.5-10

1,837 1,727 63

Simon Burton Jake Vaughan

50-55

Plus lump sum of 130-135

30-35 Plus lump sum of 70-75

2.5–5

Plus lump sum of 2.5 - 5

2.5-5 Plus lump sum of 0 – 2.5

1059

542

950

487

61

29

Nigel Sully 5-10 Plus lump sum of N/A

0-2.5 Plus lump sum of N/A

64 36 19

Fehintola Akinlose 15-20 Plus lump sum of N/A

0-2.5 Plus lump sum of N/A

220 207 9

Mostaque Ahmed


0-2.5 Plus lump sum of 0-2.5

320 317 2

Carl Woodall

30-35 Plus lump sum of N/A

2.5-5 Plus lump sum of N/A

473 420 27

Tracey Jessup


2.5-5 Plus lump sum of 2.5-5

458

397

36

Note – the external members of the Management Board do not receive a pension entitlement from the House of Lords

________________________________________________________________________

This information has been subject to audit. From 1 April 2015 a new pension scheme for civil servants was introduced – the Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme or alpha, which provides benefits on a career average basis with a normal pension age equal to the member’s State Pension Age (or 65 if higher). From that date all newly appointed civil servants and the majority of those already in service joined alpha. Prior to that date, civil servants participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has four sections: 3 providing benefits on a final salary basis (classic, premium or classic plus) with a normal pension age of 60; and one providing benefits on a whole career basis (nuvos) with a normal pension age of 65. These statutory arrangements are unfunded with the cost of benefits met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable under classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha are increased annually in line with Pensions


Increase legislation. Existing members of the PCSPS who were within 10 years of their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 remained in the PCSPS after 1 April 2015. Those who were between 10 years and 13 years and 5 months from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 will switch into alpha sometime between 1 June 2015 and 1 February 2022. All members who switch to alpha have their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their final salary when they leave alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the Management Board member has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes.) Members joining from October 2002 may opt for either the appropriate defined benefit arrangement or a ‘money purchase’ stakeholder pension with an employer contribution (partnership pension account). Employee contributions are salary-related and range between 4.6% and 8.05% for members of classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha. Benefits in classic accrue at the rate of 1/80th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. In addition, a lump sum equivalent to three years initial pension is payable on retirement. For premium, benefits accrue at the rate of 1/60th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. Unlike classic, there is no automatic lump sum. Classic plus is essentially a hybrid with benefits for service before 1 October 2002 calculated broadly as per classic and benefits for service from October 2002 worked out as in premium. In nuvos a member builds up a pension based on pensionable earnings during their period of scheme membership. At the end of the scheme year (31 March) the member’s earned pension account is credited with 2.3% of their pensionable earnings in that scheme year and the accrued pension is uprated in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Benefits in alpha build up in a similar way to nuvos, except that the accrual rate in 2.32%. In all cases members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004. The partnership pension account is a stakeholder pension arrangement. The employer makes a basic contribution of between 8%-14.75% (depending on the age of the member) into a stakeholder pension product chosen by the employee from a panel of providers. The employee does not have to contribute but where they do make contributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (in addition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5% of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally-provided risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement). The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are already at or over pension age. Pension age is 60 for members of classic, premium and classic plus and 65 for members of nuvos, and the higher of 65 or State Pension Age for members of alpha. (The pension figures quoted for the Management Board members show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the Management Board member has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes, but note that part of that pension may be payable from different ages). Further details about the Civil Service pension arrangements can be found at the website www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk Cash Equivalent Transfer Values A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. The figures include the value of any pension benefit in another scheme or arrangement which the individual has transferred to the Civil Service pension arrangements. They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their purchasing additional pension benefits at their own cost. CETVs are worked out in accordance with the Occupational Pension Scheme (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction to benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax which may be due when pension benefits are taken. Real increase in CETV This reflects the increase in CETV effectively funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period.

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/


Staff Report

1. Staff costs

The following disclosures on staff costs (including pension costs), average number of persons employed and exit packages have been audited. Staff costs (including 30% of PDS) comprise:

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Wages and salaries 25,444 24,755

Social security costs 3,078 3,024

Other pension costs 7,001 5,384

Sub total 35,523 33,163

Less recoveries in respect of outward secondments (664) (1,184)

Total net cost 34,859 31,979 The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servant and Other Pension Scheme (CSOPS) – known as “alpha” – are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes in which the House of Lords is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. The scheme actuary valued the scheme as at 30 March 2012. Details can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk). For 2019-20, employer’s contributions of £5,231,504 were payable to the Civil Service pension arrangements (2018-19 – £3,930,656) at one of four rates in the range 26.6%-30.3% (2018-19: 20%-24.5%) of pensionable earnings, based on salary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions usually every four years following a full scheme valuation. The contribution rates are set to meet the cost of the benefits accruing during 2019-20 to be paid when the member retires and not the benefits paid during this period to existing pensioners. Employees can opt to open a partnership pension account, a stakeholder pension with an employer contribution. Employer’s contributions of £182,480 (2018-19: £182,017) were paid to the relevant appointed stakeholder pension providers. Employer contributions are age-related and range from 8%-14.75% of pensionable earnings. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3 per cent of pensionable earnings. In addition, employer contributions of £5,515 (0.5 per cent) of pensionable pay, were payable to the civil service pension arrangements to cover the cost of the future provision of lump sum benefits on death in service and ill health retirement of these employees. Contributions due to the partnership pension providers at the reporting period date were £nil. Contributions prepaid at that date were £nil. No persons (2018-19: one person) retired early on ill-health grounds; the total additional accrued pension liabilities in the year amounted to £nil (2018-19: £2,753). The above amounts are only in respect of staff of the House of Lords. Other pension costs includes some costs of administering pensions for House of Lords staff. The House of Lords share of PDS wages and salaries was £3,100,540 (2018-19: £3,168,335), social security costs were £624,540 (2018-19: £652,259) and total pension costs was £1,485,486 (2018-19: £1,204,802). Of PDS pension costs the House of Lords employer’s contribution to Civil Service pensions arrangements for 2019-20 were £1,455,938 (2018-19: £1,180,220) and partnership pension contributions were £29,548 (2018-19: £24,582). In addition, PDS staff costs of £2,091,386 were charged to various programmes (2018-19 £1,351,192).

http://www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk/


2. Staff composition

The average number of full-time equivalent persons (including senior management) employed during the year was:

2019-20 2018-19

House of Lords Administration 539 532

As at 31 March 2020 the headcount composition of staff was: Female Male

Management Board7 3 6

Other Senior Staff (SCS or equivalent) 7 20

Other employees 289 244

Secondees in 3 1

Total 302 271

As at 31 March 2020 the headcount composition of senior staff (SCS or equivalent) was:

Total

Judicial Group 4 1

Senior Band 3 1

Senior Band 2 7

Senior Band 1A 3

Senior Band 1 21

Total 33

The salary of the Clerk of the Parliaments is linked to Judicial Salary Group 4 (JG4). Pay for other senior staff is broadly in line with the pay bands used in the Senior Civil Service.

3. Reporting of compensation schemes – exit packages

Redundancy and other voluntary departure costs are paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS), a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. Exit costs are accounted for in full in the year of departure. There were no such costs in 2019-20 (2018-19: nil). Where the House has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the House and not by the Civil Service pension scheme. Ill-health retirement costs are met by the pension scheme and are not included in the table. In 2019-20 the House of Lords was party to two exit packages (total cost £37,875) not covered by the CSCS (2018-19: two exit packages, total cost £9,593).

4. Tax arrangements for public appointees

In May 2012 the Treasury published Review of the Tax Arrangements of Public Sector Appointees, and in August 2012 the Cabinet Office published the Procurement Policy Note Tax Arrangements of Public Appointees. All House of Lords Administration staff are paid via the payroll. On occasion the Administration engages certain individuals on an ad hoc or daily rate basis; examples would include ad hoc specific consultancy, and most specialist advisers to Select Committees. The House of Lords Administration identifies individuals engaged through off-payroll arrangements, where the daily rate exceeds £245 and the duration of the arrangement exceeds six months.

7 Includes the external members of the Management Board and the Chief Information Officer & Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service.


The Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) is a joint department of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Its costs, and the majority of its contracts, were shared jointly between the two Houses. In line with the above approach, details of the arrangements relating to PDS are included for information. 4.1 Off-payroll engagements as of 31 March 2020, for more than £245 per day and that last for longer than six months House of Lords

PDS

Number of existing engagements as of 31 March 2020 14 9 Of which at the time of reporting have existed for: less than one year 9 4 between one and two years 2 - between two and three years - 2 between three and four years 2 3 for four or more years 1 -

4.2 New off-payroll engagements, or those that reached six months in duration, between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, for more than £245 per day and that last for longer than six months House of Lords PDS

Number of new engagements, or those that reached six months in duration, between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020

9 6

Of which: no. assessed as caught by IR358 - 4 no. assessed as not caught by IR35 9 2 No. engaged directly (via PSC contracted to department and are on the departmental payroll)

- 1

No. of engagements reassessed for consistency/assurance purposes during the year

- -

No. of engagements that saw a change to IR35 status following the consistency review

- -

There are no House of Lords Management Board members, or senior officials with significant financial responsibility, who have off-payroll engagements. 5. Consultancy costs Consultancy costs are defined as the provision to management of objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation, in pursuit of its purposes and objectives. Such advice will be provided outside the ‘business as usual’ environment when in-house skills are not available and will be time limited. It may include the identification of options with recommendations, or assistance with the implementation of solutions. In 2019-20 the House of Lords spent £57,488 (2018-19: £64,008). The House of Lords also reimbursed the House of Commons £918,801 (2018-19: £390,655) in relation to consultancy costs for Restoration and Renewal, Estates and Works, the Parliamentary Digital Service and other shared services.

8 IR35 relates to off-payroll working through an intermediary


6. Sickness absence During 2019-20 the staff sickness absence rate was: Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual

% of working days lost to sickness in period (2018-19)

2.30%

(2.08%)

2.32%

(1.80%)

2.29%

(2.19%)

2.00%

(2.48%)

2.22%

(2.14%)

Average number of days lost to sickness per employee (2018-19)

1.41

(1.29)

1.51

(1.15)

1.46

(1.40)

1.30

(1.56)

5.68

(5.41)

7. Staff policies applied during the year

Staff Issues

The Clerk of the Parliaments attaches importance to effective consultation with, and involvement of, staff. Certain trade union organisations have been recognised by the House of Lords for the purposes of negotiating terms and conditions of service, and are represented on the House of Lords Whitley Committee. The Whitley Committee is a joint body of management and staff, including staff representatives from the recognised trade unions, and provides a mechanism for consultation, discussion, negotiation and dealing with issues. Additionally, staff involvement is encouraged as part of the day to day process of line management and the annual business planning process.

Equality and Diversity9

The House of Lords values all members of staff equally. Every member of staff has the right to respect and fair treatment, and the right to equality of opportunity in all aspects of their employment. The House of Lords seeks to ensure that every member of staff will be treated fairly and with respect regardless of their age, gender, gender identity or reassignment, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religious affiliation or religious belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, or any other factor that is irrelevant to performance. Staff will be considered on merit for opportunities, including training, development and promotion and be given all reasonable help to overcome problems at work which are associated with a disability. The House of Lords will support members of staff with disabilities. The Administration will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments to a person’s job or working conditions to alleviate the effects of their disability. This may include changes to duties, hours of work, or flexible working conditions. The equality and diversity policy is in line with Civil Service policy statements, United Kingdom legislation on equality of opportunity and equal pay, and European Union law. The terms and conditions of staff are kept under review by the Human Resources Office to ensure that they do not discriminate against any particular group or individual. All staff receive equality, diversity and inclusion training every three to four years.

9 See also the Diversity and Corporate Responsibility Report on page 43


Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Statement of Parliamentary Supply

In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) requires Departments to prepare a Statement of Parliamentary Supply (SoPS) and supporting notes to show resource outturn against the Supply Estimate presented to Parliament, in respect of each budgetary control limit. The SoPs and related notes are subject to audit. The SoPS and supporting notes have been prepared in accordance with the Government FReM, as applied by analogy, by the House of Lords. Summary of Resource and Capital Outturn 2019-20

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Estimate Outturn Outturn

SoPSNote

Voted

Non-

Voted

Total

Voted

Non-

Voted

Total

Voted outturn compared with

Estimate: saving/(excess)

Total

Department Expenditure Limit

- Resource 1.1 146,769 - 146,769 134,513 - 134,513 12,256 124,056 - Capital

1.2 63,644 - 63,644 53,779 - 53,779 9,865 47,722

Annually Managed Expenditure

- Resource 1.1 4,700 - 4,700 3,686 - 3,686 1,014 33,852

- Capital - - - - - - - -

Total Budget 215,113 - 215,113 191,978 - 191,978 23,135 205,630

Non-Budget - Resource - - - - - - - -

Total 215,113 - 215,113 191,978 - 191,978 23,135 205,630

Total Resource 1.1 151,469 - 151,469 138,199 - 138,199 13,270 157,908

Total Capital 1.2 63,644 - 63,644 53,779 - 53,779 9,865 47,722

Total 215,113 - 215,113 191,978 - 191,978 23,135 205,630

Net cash requirement 2019-20

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

SoPS Note

Estimate

Outturn

Outturn compared with

Estimate: saving/(excess)

Total

Net cash requirement 2 199,137 173,462 25,675 158,757

The House of Lords is outside HM Treasury’s administration costs control regime. All expenditure is classified as programme costs. Figures in the areas outlined in bold are voted totals subject to Parliamentary control. Explanations of variances between Estimate and outturn are given in the Management Commentary to the Accounts (page 21). The notes on pages 54 to 55 support this statement.


Notes to the Statement of Parliamentary Supply

SoPS 1. Net Outturn SoPS 1.1 Analysis of net resource outturn by section

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Outturn Estimate Outturn

Gross

Income

Net Total

Net Total

Net Total outturn

compared with

Estimate

Total

Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limit

Voted:

Administration 90,632 (5,302) 85,330 90,693 (5,363) 86,827

Works Services 49,443 (260) 49,183 56,076 (6,893) 37,229

Annually Managed Expenditure Voted:

Administration 3,686 - 3,686 4,700 (1,014) 33,852

Total 143,761 (5,562) 138,199 151,469 (13,270) 157,908

SoPS 1.2 Analysis of net capital outturn by section

2019-20

£000 2018-19

£000

Outturn Estimate Outturn

Gross

Income

Net Total

Net Total

Net Total outturn

compared with

Estimate

Total

Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limit

Voted:

Administration 3,049 (23) 3,026 2,761 265 1,915

Works Services 51,693 (940) 50,753 60,883 (10,130) 45,807

Annually Managed Expenditure

Voted:

Administration - - - - - -

Total 54,742 (963) 53,779 63,644 (9,865) 47,722


SoPS 2. Reconciliation of Net Resource Outturn to Net Cash Requirement

Estimate £000

Outturn £000

Net total outturn

compared with Estimate:

saving/(excess) £000

Resource Outturn 151,469 138,199 13,270

Capital Outturn 63,644 53,779 9,865

Accruals to cash adjustments:

Adjustments to remove non-cash items:

Depreciation10 (15,761) (12,272) (3,489)

New provisions and adjustments to previous provisions (700) - (700)

Other non-cash items including audit fee & revaluation adjustments (75) (3,242) 3,167

Adjustments to reflect movements in working balances:

Increase/(decrease) in inventories 10 18 (8)

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other receivables 100 (412) 512

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other payables 450 (1,634) 2,084

Movement in provisions

- - -

Proceeds from the disposal of property, plant & equipment - (974) 974

Net Cash requirement 199,137 173,462 25,675

Parliamentary Accountability Disclosures

1. Losses and Special Payments11 1.1 Losses Statement No losses that require separate disclosure because of their nature or amount were incurred during the year to 31 March 2020 (2018-19: £ nil). 1.2 Special Payments No special payments that require separate disclosure because of their nature or amount were incurred during the year to 31 March 2020 (2018-19: one).

2. Remote Contingent Liabilities11 In addition to contingent liabilities reported within the meaning of IAS 37, the House of Lords has entered into remote contingent liabilities by offering guarantees, indemnities or by giving letters of comfort in relation to works of art on loan from various collections. As at 31 March 2020 these totalled £10.872m (31 March 2019: £11.481m). In addition the House of Lords has on long term loan works of art owned by the House of Lords Collection Trust with an estimated total value of £736,000. Contingent liabilities within the meaning of IAS 37 are disclosed in note 12 of the Financial Statements. Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer

16 July 2020

10 The Estimate figure includes the budget for the revaluation adjustments 11 This section is subject to audit


The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Houses of Parliament Opinion on financial statements

I certify that I have audited the financial statements of the House of Lords for the year ended 31 March 2020. The financial statements comprise: the Statements of Comprehensive Net Expenditure, Financial Position, Cash Flows, Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity; and the related notes, including the significant accounting policies. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out within them.

I have also audited the Statement of Parliamentary Supply and the related notes, and the information in the Accountability Report that is described in that report as having been audited.

In my opinion:

• the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the House of Lords’ affairs as at 31 March 2020 and of the House of Lords’ net operating expenditure for the year then ended; and

• the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the with the Financial Reporting Manual as adapted or interpreted for the House of Lords context.

Opinion on regularity

In my opinion, in all material respects:

• the Statement of Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals for the year ended 31 March 2020 and shows that those totals have not been exceeded; and

• the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

Basis of opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (UK) and Practice Note 10 ‘Audit of Financial Statements of Public Sector Entities in the United Kingdom’. My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate. Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2016. I am independent of the House of Lords in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit and the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion. Emphasis of matter – material uncertainty regarding property valuation

Without qualifying my opinion, I draw attention to the disclosures in Note 1.3 to the financial statements in relation to the valuation of the land and buildings held by the House of Lords. Properties in use are revalued on an annual basis by an independent valuer and included in the financial statements at this value. A total valuation of £655 million was obtained at 31 March 2020. However, the valuation draws attention to the fact that the disruption to the UK economy generally and the property market in particular as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic means


there is a material uncertainty as to the value of the property at the balance sheet date. Note 1.3 includes details of the potential impact to the valuation of movements in the key assumptions underpinning this valuation. My audit opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Conclusions relating to going concern

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require me to report to you where:

• the House of Lords’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or

• the House of Lords’ have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the House of Lords’ ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the Accounting Officer is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

My responsibility is to audit, certify and report on the financial statements.

An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), I exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. I also:

• identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

• obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the House of Lords’ internal control.

• evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.

• evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.


• conclude on the appropriateness of the House of Lords’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the House of Lords’ ability to continue as a going concern. If I conclude that a material uncertainty exists, I am required to draw attention in my report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify my opinion. My conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of my report. However, future events or conditions may cause House of Lords to cease to continue as a going concern.

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that I identify during my audit.

I am required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the Statement of Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals and that those totals have not been exceeded. The voted Parliamentary control totals are Departmental Expenditure Limits (Resource and Capital), Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource and Capital), Non-Budget (Resource) and Net Cash Requirement. I am also required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

Other Information

The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises information included in the annual report, but does not include the parts of the Accountability Report described in that report as having been audited, the financial statements and my auditor’s report thereon. My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with my audit of the financial statements, my responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact. I have nothing to report in this regard. Opinion on other matters

In my opinion:

• the parts of the Accountability Report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual as adapted or interpreted for the House of Lords context;

• in the light of the knowledge and understanding of the House of Lords and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified any material misstatements in the Performance Report or the Accountability Report; and

• the information given in the Performance and Accountability Reports for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.


Matters on which I report by exception

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for my audit have not been received from branches not visited by my staff; or

• the financial statements and the parts of the Accountability Report to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• I have not received all of the information and explanations I require for my audit; or

• the Governance Statement does not reflect compliance with HM Treasury’s guidance.

Report

I have no observations to make on these financial statements. Gareth Davies Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road Victoria London SW1W 9SP 17 July 2020


Financial Statements

Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2020 This account summarises the expenditure and income generated and consumed on an accruals basis. It also includes other comprehensive income and expenditure, which include changes to the values of non-current assets and other financial instruments that cannot yet be recognised as income or expenditure.

Note 2019-20

£000

2018-19

£000

Revenue from the sale of goods and services 4 5,562 5,900

Total operating income 5,562 5,900

Staff costs 3 34,859 31,979

Purchase of goods and services 3 68,276 55,369

Depreciation and impairment charges 3 16,403 46,320

Provision expense 3 - -

Other operating expenditure 3 24,223 30,140

Total operating expenditure 143,761 163,808

Net operating expenditure 138,199 157,908

Net expenditure for year 138,199 157,908

Other Comprehensive Net Expenditure

Items which will not be reclassified to net operating costs:

- Net loss/(gain) on revaluation of Property, Plant and Equipment 3, 5 (6,184) 55,541

Comprehensive Net Expenditure for the Year 132,015 213,449

The notes on pages 64 to 82 form part of these accounts.


Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2020 This statement presents the financial position of the House. It comprises three main components: assets owned or controlled; liabilities owed to other bodies; and equity, the remaining value of the entity.

Note

£000

31 March 2020

£000

£000

31 March 2019

£000

Non-current assets:

Property, plant and equipment 5 688,273 643,739

Intangible assets 6 249 293

Total non-current assets: 688,522 644,032

Current assets: Asset held for sale 7 - 940

Inventories 496 478

Trade and other receivables 8 1,677 2,089

Cash and cash equivalents 9 225 103

Total current assets: 2,398 3,610

Total assets: 690,920 647,642

Current liabilities:

Trade and other payables 10 (12,495) (10,739)

Total current liabilities (12,495) (10,739)

Total assets less current liabilities 678,425 636,903

Non-current liabilities:

Provisions 11 - -

Total non-current liabilities - -

Total assets less total liabilities 678,425 636,903

Taxpayers’ equity and other reserves:

General Fund 485,810 447,042

Revaluation Reserve 192,615 189,861

Total equity 678,425 636,903

Ed Ollard Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer

16 July 2020 The notes on pages 64 to 82 form part of these accounts.


Statement of Cash Flows for year ended 31 March 2020 The Statement of Cash Flows shows the changes in cash and cash equivalents of the House during the reporting period. The statement shows how the House generates and uses cash and cash equivalents by classifying cash flows as operating, investing and financing activities. The amount of net cash flows arising from operating activities is a key indicator of service costs and the extent to which these operations are funded by way of income from the recipients of services provided by the House. Investing activities represent the extent to which cash inflows and outflows have been made for resources which are intended to contribute to the House’s future public service delivery.

Note 2019-20

£000 2018-19

£000

Cash flows from operating activities

Net operating expenditure (138,199) (157,908)

Adjustments for non-cash transactions 3 16,478 46,390

(Increase)/Decrease in trade and other receivables 8 412 (368)

(Increase)/Decrease in inventories (18) (80)

Increase/(Decrease) in trade and other payables 10 1,634 1,271

Less movement in payables not via SoCNE - 7

Movement in provisions 11 - -

Net cash outflow from operating activities (119,693) (110,688)

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of property, plant and equipment 5 (54,687) (49,819)

Purchase of intangible assets 6 (56) (2)

Proceeds from the disposal of property, plant and equipment 974 1,759

Net cash outflow from investing activities (53,769) (48,062)

Cash flows from financing activities

From the Consolidated Fund (Supply) – current year 173,584 158,696

Capital element of payments in respect of finance leases and on-balance sheet (SoFP) Service Concession contracts

- (7)

Net financing 173,584 158,689

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the period before adjustment for receipts and payments to the Consolidated Fund

122 (61)

Payments of amounts due to the Consolidated Fund - -

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the period after adjustment for receipts and payments to the Consolidated Fund

122 (61)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 9 103 164

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 9 225 103



Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity for the year ended 31 March 2020 This statement shows the movement in the year on the different reserves held by the House, analysed into ‘general fund reserves’ (i.e. those reserves that reflect a contribution from the Consolidated Fund). The Revaluation Reserve reflects the change in asset values that have not been recognised as income or expenditure. The General Fund represents the total assets less liabilities of the House, to the extent that the total is not represented by other reserves and financing items.

Note General Fund Revaluation

Reserve Total

Reserves

£000 £000 £000

Balance at 31 March 2018 441,115 250,410 691,525

Net Parliamentary Funding – drawn down 158,696 - 158,696

Net Parliamentary Funding – deemed 164 - 164

Supply payable adjustment (103) - (103)

Comprehensive Net Expenditure for the Year (157,908) - (157,908)

Non-cash charges – auditor’s remuneration 70 - 70

Revaluation gains and losses - (55,541) (55,541)

Transfers between Reserves 5,008 (5,008) -

Balance at 31 March 2019 447,042 189,861 636,903

Net Parliamentary Funding – drawn down 173,584 - 173,584

Net Parliamentary Funding – deemed 103 - 103

Supply payable adjustment (225) - (225)

Comprehensive Net Expenditure for the Year (138,199) - (138,199)

Non-cash charges – auditor’s remuneration 3 75 - 75

Revaluation gains and losses 3, 5 - 6,184 6,184

Transfers between Reserves 3,430 (3,430) -

Balance at 31 March 2020 485,810 192,615 678,425



Notes to the Accounts 1. Statement of accounting policies The House of Lords is not a government department and is not obliged to comply with the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) issued by HM Treasury. Whilst the House of Lords is not obliged to comply with the FReM (or HM Treasury’s Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good Practice) it seeks to apply best practice principles wherever possible and the FReM is applied by analogy. The financial statements have been prepared with reference to the 2019-20 FreM. The accounting policies contained in the FReM apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adapted or interpreted for the public sector context. Where the FReM permits a choice of accounting policy, the accounting policy which is judged to be the most appropriate to the particular circumstances of the House of Lords for the purpose of giving a true and fair view has been selected. The particular policies adopted by the House of Lords are described below. The accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items that are considered material to the accounts and there were no changes in 2019-20. The Statement of Parliamentary Supply and supporting notes show outturn against Estimate in terms of the net resource requirement and the net cash requirement. The Palace of Westminster is a Royal Palace and is under the joint stewardship of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Responsibility for delivering capital investment programmes and projects, along with supporting property, planning and design teams relating to the Palace and the Parliamentary Estate, rests with Strategic Estates and the Managing Director of Strategic Estates in the House of Commons. The maintenance, environment and related functions are part of the In-House Services team in the House of Commons. Expenditure on the Palace and the Parliamentary Estate is apportioned in a 40:60 ratio (Lords:Commons), or solely allocated to the House of Lords or the House of Commons where appropriate. Expenditure is made on behalf of the House of Lords by the Department of Finance in the House of Commons. Expenditure is then recharged to the House of Lords over the course of the year. The Parliamentary Archives is a shared facility with relevant costs split in a 60:40 ratio between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Security costs are arranged and monitored by the Director of Security for Parliament and the relevant costs apportioned in a 30:70 ratio (Lords:Commons) in 2019-20. Costs relating to the Metropolitan Police are also apportioned 30:70 but are billed separately to the two Houses. ICT services are managed by the Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) for both Houses. Each House paid for its own ICT hardware and House specific software, with the costs of PDS itself being split on a 30:70 (Lords:Commons) ratio. Capital costs incurred by PDS are included on each House’s Statement of Financial Position at the appropriate ratio. Joint ICT development project costs are shared on a basis agreed project by project. Additionally, the two Houses incur other administration costs on each other’s behalf. These are recharged over the course of the year, on the basis of agreed proportions. For more details see note 14.

1.1 Accounting convention These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified to account for the revaluation of property, plant and equipment, and inventories, where material, at their value to the House of Lords by reference to their current cost. These accounts comprise the House of Lords’ Estimate, which includes expenses and allowances paid to Members of the House of Lords. The estimate also includes administrative and accommodation costs, such as security, catering, estates and works services expenditure.

1.2 Impending application of newly issued accounting standards not yet effective The House of Lords provides disclosure that it has not yet applied a new accounting standard, or known of reasonably estimable information relevant to assessing the possible impact that initial application of the new standard will have on the resource accounts. There were no new standards issued for 2019-20 and not applied that would materially affect the resource accounts. The House of Lords has not adopted any standards early. IFRS 16 Leases was issued in January 2016 and is being applied by HM Treasury in the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) from 1 April 2021. The standard introduces a single lessee accounting model irrespective of the type of lease in operation. HM Treasury has issued guidance on the implementation of this accounting standard which the House of Lords intends to adopt. Based on current information, if the standard were adopted in 2020-21, the general fund opening balance in the


Notes to the Accounts – continued Statement of Financial Position would be adjusted by approximately £6k and the Statement of Consolidated Net Expenditure will receive a charge of approximately £304k. IFRS 17- Insurance contracts, will be effective for reporting periods after 1 January 2023 which replaces IFRS 4. The standard applies to issued insurance contracts and reporting these in the financial statements to provide comparability and increase transparency. It is expected there will be no impact to the 2023-24 accounts. 1.3 Property, Plant and Equipment The minimum level for the capitalisation of property, plant and equipment, and intangible non current assets, is £5,000. Smaller items may be grouped if such groups have a significant value above the capitalisation threshold. i. Land and Buildings Land and buildings shown in the accounts are as follows:

a. property on the Parliamentary Estate administered by the House of Lords; b. property on the Parliamentary Estate administered by the House of Lords and House of Commons jointly.

In accordance with IAS 16 property, plant and equipment (excluding the Palace of Westminster) are valued at fair value using a method determined by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The Palace of Westminster is valued at Depreciated Replacement Cost due to its specialised nature and all other buildings are valued at fair value using the existing use method. The Parliamentary Estate is subject to a full professional revaluation every 5 years, supplemented by an annual VOA desktop valuation in the interim years. The Parliamentary Estate was re-valued during 2019-20 by the VOA using a desktop valuation, the valuation date was 31 March 2020. The last full revaluation was as at 31 March 2018. Revaluation gains are first credited to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure if there are previous losses that can be offset on an asset by asset basis, and then taken to the revaluation reserve. Revaluation losses are taken first to the revaluation reserve and then to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure for any loss in excess of previous revaluation gains on an asset by asset basis. ii. Depreciated Replacement Cost Depreciated replacement cost (DRC) is used for specialised properties which are unique, either due to their design, configuration, size or nature and are rarely sold in the market. When producing a DRC valuation, the general assumption is that the replacement cost is calculated using ‘a modern equivalent’, where the replacement asset provides the same service potential but in a contemporary setting. However, there are situations where the only way that a replacement asset could provide the same service potential would be to reproduce the actual building. Public Sector Accounting Standard 17 (IPSAS 17) provides an example of a parliament building that would be reproduced (rather than replaced) because of its significance to the community. The Palace of Westminster is a Grade One listed building and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, therefore it is appropriate for it to be valued on the basis of it being rebuilt ‘as is’. One component of the replacement cost calculation is the inflationary increase applied year on year to the cost of build – this is the Tender Price Index (TPI). There is also a location factor for the London Borough of Westminster. These indices are estimates and are therefore subject to fluctuations, for example, a one point movement in the TPI would have approximately £11 million impact on the DRC valuation of the Palace of Westminster as a whole. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) provide a draft valuation in the Autumn preceding the year end using the forecast TPI and location indices. The VOA then monitor these indices throughout the remainder of the year and notify the House of significant fluctuations, say over 3% for both Houses to review and assess the impact. The VAT position of the House is complex and there are no comparators for the total rebuild of an asset of such unique and historic importance. The most prudent decision based on current HMRC guidelines to government departments is that the valuation would include VAT. The assumption will be kept under review to reflect any future changes or clarifications. The total amount of VAT recognised within the valuation is estimated to be £84.9m (House of Lords only) .


Notes to the Accounts – continued The original assessment and the assumption used to value the Palace of Westminster were created a significant time ago. The use of the Palace has changed considerably since that original assessment and the condition of the building continues to deteriorate. Whilst the House is content that the assumptions remain reliable, has been assured that the valuation represents the depreciated replacement cost, and that COVID-19 has not impacted the value at this point, there remains an element of uncertainty within the figures provided by the VOA, which this year was a desk top based review and they have provided a statement to the House on material uncertainty. The House is also closely monitoring the guidance from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and any movements in the building cost indices, as this may impact the depreciated replacement cost of the Palace. It is thus right that the House seeks further and fuller assurance on the values presented and will invite the VOA to undertake a fuller, on-site assessment when practical to do so. iii. Functional Obsolescence Functional Obsolescence represents a reduction in the carrying value of an asset due to an outdated design feature that cannot easily be changed. The Palace of Westminster was designed in the mid-19th century to provide the functional requirements needed at the time and also incorporated surviving medieval buildings on the site, so it is not surprising that the design of the Palace is perhaps not the best fit to meet the needs of the 21st century. The extent to which the value of the Palace is reduced is an accounting estimate and determined jointly, by both Houses of Parliament. It looks at a range of factors such as the site and location of the Palace, the flow of supplies throughout the building and how energy efficient it is. A change in the Functional Obsolescence factor of 1% will reduce the net book value of the Palace by approximately £4.9 million (House of Lords only). During 2018-19, management of both Houses reviewed the Functional Obsolescence factor applied to the Palace and amended it from 8.25% to 13.3%. iv. Long Leasehold Properties The House of Lords holds some properties on long leaseholds. The building element of the property is capitalised, revalued annually and depreciated over its useful life. The land element is capitalised and revalued annually. v. Plant and Machinery Plant and Machinery includes the Great Clock mechanism in the Elizabeth Tower, popularly known as ‘Big Ben’, and equipment in the Cromwell Green Entrance. The Great Clock was previously valued using appropriate indices at 31 March 2006. The cost of valuing the Great Clock outweighs the benefit provided, therefore there are no plans currently to re-value it. vi. Other Non Current Assets Other non current assets have been stated at current cost using appropriate indices where appropriate. For 2019-20 other non current assets were not subject to revaluation as the modified costs were not material. vii. Assets Under Construction Assets under construction additions are capitalised at cost. viii. Intangible Non Current Assets Intangible non current assets relate to development costs and licences to use software developed by third parties, which are valued at cost. ix. Material Uncertainty As at the valuation date, the Valuation Office Agency has advised on material uncertainty within their reported figures due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. They have reported that they have attached less weight to previous market evidence for comparison purposes to inform opinions of value. They further advise that the current response to COVID-19 means that they are faced with an unprecedented set of circumstances on which to base their judgement. The valuations are therefore reported on the basis of ‘material valuation uncertainty’ as per UK Valuation Technical


Notes to the Accounts – continued and Performance Standard 3 and UK Valuation Practice Guidance Application 10 of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Red Book Global. Consequently, less certainty and a higher degree of caution should be attached to their valuation than would normally be the case. Given the unknown future impact that COVID-19 might have on the real estate market, they recommend that the House keeps the valuation of these properties under frequent review, which the House agrees with.

1.4 Heritage Assets The Government FReM (applied by analogy by the House of Lords) requires organisations to provide additional information, within the financial statements, of any heritage assets held by them. Each category of heritage asset held by the House of Lords, along with the applicable accounting policy and asset management policies, is detailed below. The House of Lords has the following categories of heritage assets – antique furniture, works of art, the Parliamentary Archives, broadcasting archives, the Library collection, Members’ robes, ceremonial items, architectural salvage, and the estates archives. Of these the value of antique furniture, the Members’ robes and additions to the Works of Art Collection since 1 April 2000 are included in the Statement of Financial Position. The others are not capitalised as it is not cost effective to obtain valuations for these asset groups. i. Antique Furniture The House’s collection of antique furniture is reported in the Statement of Financial Position at market value. The furniture collection consists mainly of historical furniture, clocks and ceramics. Due to the importance of these collections, all assets have been capitalised regardless of their individual value. Each year the Furniture Manager carries out an internal review to assess if any revaluation adjustment is required. During 2015-16 the furniture was valued by Bonhams who gave an indicative valuation for purposes of insurance and a market value. Many of the items are in continual use throughout the estate. Of the items in storage some are kept on site and some are held by a third party in secured storage facilities. It is the House’s policy to maintain its collection of antique furniture in full working order and maintenance costs are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure when incurred. The antique furniture collection is deemed to have indeterminate life and the House does not therefore consider it appropriate to charge depreciation. Subject to approval, the Furniture Manager may dispose of items from the collection, although this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. The vast majority of items in the collection were acquired over forty years ago. The House’s acquisition and disposal policies were reviewed and updated during 2012-13. ii. Works of Art Collection Parliament has collected Works of Art since 1841. The Parliamentary Works of Art Collection is the national collection of art relating to the history of Parliament. It contains images of important parliamentary events past and present, and includes the murals, mosaics and tapestries within the Palace of Westminster. There is also a collection of medals with associations to former parliamentarians. It is a growing collection, representing the life of Parliament throughout history to the present day. The collection originally consisted of works of art commissioned by the Fine Arts Commission, with the purpose of bringing the history of the nation to life on the walls of the interiors of the Houses of Parliament. Many of the works added later were acquired as donations from Members of both Houses. Until 1991 the collection was held jointly by both Houses of Parliament; at that date the works were nominally split between the two Houses on the basis of where works were situated at that date. However, this split did not necessarily reflect actual ownership at the date of acquisition, or the locations for which the works were originally commissioned or intended. For valuation purposes, the parliamentary art collection is divided into two categories; those items held as at 31 March 2000 and those items acquired since that date. The value of the parliamentary art collection as at 31 March 2000 is not currently included on the Statement of Financial Position due to the diverse nature of the assets and the large volume of items held by the House. To obtain a market value for a collection of this size and diversity would be costly and the benefit received by a valuation exercise at this time would not justify the expense incurred. This was reviewed in 2012-13 and no change in policy was agreed.


Notes to the Accounts – continued Acquisitions since 1 April 2000 have either been made by purchase or donation; purchases are recorded at cost. The Parliamentary Art Collection is deemed to have an indeterminate life and the House does not therefore consider it appropriate to charge depreciation. It is the House’s policy to maintain its collection of parliamentary art in pristine condition and any maintenance costs are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure when incurred. The Works of Art collection is managed by the Houses’ Curator. The Curator’s Office is responsible for all aspects of the management, care, conservation, preservation and interpretation of the Parliamentary Art Collection at the Palace of Westminster in accordance with the policies that are approved by the relevant Works of Art panels of both Houses. The House’s acquisition and disposal policies were reviewed and updated during 2014-15. The collection has over 8,000 works of art, over 80% of which are on display throughout the buildings of the Parliamentary Estate. The earliest pieces date from the medieval age, with major holdings dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and also significant contemporary holdings. The collection held by Parliament, either solely or jointly with the House of Commons, prior to 1 April 2000 can be classified as:

Purchased Works of Art numbering: And Donated Works of Art numbering: Paintings and Prints 4,796 Paintings and Prints 1,534 Busts 170 Busts and Statues 49 Medieval Statuary 6 Murals and mosaics 17 Murals and mosaics 122 Tapestries 1 Tapestries 9

iii. The Parliamentary Archives The Parliamentary Archives comprise c. 4 million items that have been preserved at the Palace of Westminster from 1497 to date in a variety of formats from parchment and paper to born-digital and digitised records. Parliamentary records prior to 1497 form part of the National Archives. Most of the records are unique and irreplaceable and have been preserved for their historical, legal and administrative value, consequently it is not deemed cost effective or useful to obtain a value. The Parliamentary Archives were established as a service within the House of Lords in 1946. The administration costs of this service have been shared with the House of Commons since 1999. Any operational assets held by the Parliamentary Archives are disclosed within the House of Lords Resource Accounts. The Parliamentary Archives publishes an Annual Report which is available via www.parliament.uk. Full details of the Parliamentary Archives acquisition policy are also available at this web address. iv. Broadcasting Archives The broadcasting archive consists of audio and video tape recordings of broadcast coverage from the Chambers in both Houses and also Committees selected by the broadcasters. In November 2015 the Broadcast Unit switched from tape to server recording. 38,000 video tapes and 36,000 audio tapes are held in the collection in 7 Millbank. Audio dates from 1978 and the video collection dates from 1985 (Lords) and 1989 (Commons). In November 2015 the Broadcast Unit switched from tape to server recording and in 2017 Parliament began the process of digitising the video tapes in order to preserve the content stored on the ageing video tapes. Audio tapes will continue to be held in storage. The archive is valuable in an historical sense but is difficult to value in practice. High quality recordings are made freely available as duplicated copies to anyone who orders it with a small fee applied to cover the costs of transfer. Content dating back to 2007 can be downloaded without charge via parliamentlive.tv. Consequently, the value for this archive is not included on the Statement of Financial Position. v. House of Lords Library Collection The House of Lords Library holds a collection including early printed books, which dates back to the fifteenth century. A comprehensive collection management policy covering collection management, preservation and conservation, loans and donations is held by the House of Lords Library. This policy is reviewed on a regular basis. Similarly to the Parliamentary Archives, it is not deemed cost effective to obtain a value of the collection.


Notes to the Accounts – continued vi. Members’ Robes The House of Lords holds robes which are lent to Members for ceremonial use on State occasions. These were donated or bequeathed to the House by former Members, are secured within the Palace and cleaned and repaired as necessary. Any maintenance costs are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure when incurred. The value of Member Robes is based on an indicative valuation for purposes of insurance and the robes, due to their long life, are not depreciated. vii. Ceremonial Items The House’s collection of ceremonial items includes the Mace, the Woolsack and medallions worn by the Doorkeepers. The value of ceremonial items is not currently included within the Statement of Financial Position as it is deemed not cost effective to do so. The costs of ceremonial uniforms are charged to operating costs in the year the expenditure was incurred. Any maintenance costs are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure when incurred. viii. Architectural salvage and estate archives

The architectural salvage collection consists of examples of architectural pieces from the Palace of Westminster such as examples of stone work. Many of these pieces have been retained to provide a record of the craftsmanship used in the building of the Palace throughout its life. Cost information is not readily available and the benefit of obtaining valuations would not justify the cost, therefore it is not recognised in the Statement of Financial Position. The estate archive consists of predominantly parliamentary estate ephemera. It is not recognised in the Statement of Financial Position as cost information is not readily available and the benefit of obtaining valuations would not justify the cost. Nearly all the items are thought to have nominal financial value and no item is worth more than £1,000.

1.5 Depreciation and Amortisation Depreciation is charged to expenditure on the historic value of assets. For buildings and a selection of non-current assets, that element of the depreciation which relates to the increase in valuation in prior years is charged to the Revaluation Reserve. This amount is realised by transferring the balance in the Revaluation Reserve to the General Fund over the remaining useful life of the asset. Land assets are not depreciated. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the valuation of freehold buildings and also for plant, equipment and intangible assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful lives. Assets with a long useful life, for example some heritage assets with an estimated life of more than 200 years, are not depreciated (as per IAS 16) because the long remaining life or high residual value of the asset makes any such charge immaterial. Capital works on leasehold property are depreciated on a straight line basis over the lease period. The capitalised costs of assets in the course of construction are not depreciated until the assets are brought into use. Asset lives are in the following range:

Palace of Westminster 69 years Other buildings remaining life (between 22-35 years) Catering and Retail Services silverware 20 years Broadcasting equipment 10 years Fixtures and fittings 10 years Telephone equipment 5-10 years General office equipment 5-10 years Plant and Machinery (excluding clock mechanism) 5-10 years Computer file servers and software 3-5 years Other IT equipment 3-4 years

Assets are reviewed for impairment on a case by case basis, and any adjustments are accounted for in accordance with the FReM as applied by the House.


Notes to the Accounts – continued 1.6 Inventories Inventories include goods for resale and other inventories held by Catering and Retail Services. Finished goods for resale are valued at cost or, where materially different, current replacement cost and at net realisable value only when they either cannot or will not be used. 1.7 Research and Development Any expenditure on research and development is treated as an operating cost in the year in which it is incurred. 1.8 Income Income relates directly to the operating activities of the House of Lords. It includes receipts from Private Bill proceedings, reproduction of parliamentary archives, the provision of catering and retail services, rental income, and other fees and charges. The accounting standard IFRS 15 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers establishes the principles that should be complied with when recognising income. The vast majority of income received by the House of Lords is in connection with catering and retail sales and income is recognised at the time the service or goods are provided.

1.9 Foreign exchange Transactions which are denominated in a foreign currency are translated into sterling at the exchange rate ruling on the date of each transaction.

1.10 Leases Operating lease rentals are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure over the lease term. The House of Lords holds two properties on 999 year leases. These are capitalised and the building elements are depreciated over their useful life.

1.11 Grants payable The House of Lords, along with the House of Commons, provides grant funding to certain bodies with links to Parliament and whose purpose is consistent with its Strategic Plan. Generally grants are paid quarterly and the amounts are reviewed each year. The House of Lords made the following grant payments:

2019-20 £

2018-19 £

History of Parliament Trust 477,716 502,860 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch 566,676 551,116 British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union 361,746 397,950 British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly 39,883 46,651 British-American Parliamentary Group 35,444 34,750 1,481,465 1,533,327

1.12 Financial Instruments Financial instruments are initially recognised at fair value unless otherwise stated. Fair value is the amount at which such an instrument could be exchanged in an arm’s length transaction between informed and willing parties. Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and cash at bank. Trade and other debtors are carried at fair value, which is represented by their invoiced value less any subsequent reduction through the provision of bad and doubtful debts. Trade creditors and other liabilities are carried at fair value, based on the invoiced or expected invoice amounts.

1.13 Third-party assets The House of Lords Catering and Retail Services receives and pays gratuities, via the payroll, on behalf of its staff. For 2019-20 the amount paid was £318,330 (2018-19: £323,431). The balance held at the end of the financial year was £10,500 (2018-19: £32,481).


Notes to the Accounts – continued 1.14 Contingent Liabilities Contingent liabilities are reviewed each year and disclosed in a note to the accounts (see note 12). In addition to contingent liabilities disclosed in accordance with IAS 37 Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets, the House discloses for parliamentary reporting and accountability purposes certain statutory and non-statutory contingent liabilities where the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit is remote, but which have been reported to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of Managing Public Money. Where the time value of money is material, contingent liabilities which are required to be disclosed under IAS 37 are stated at discounted amounts and the amount reported to Parliament is separately noted. Contingent liabilities that are not required to be disclosed by IAS 37 are stated in the amounts reported to Parliament (see the Parliamentary Accountability Disclosures on page 55). 1.15 Value Added Tax Most of the activities of the House of Lords are outside the scope of VAT and, in general, output tax does not apply and input tax on purchases is not recoverable. Irrecoverable VAT is charged to the relevant expenditure category or included in the capitalised purchase cost of fixed assets. Where output tax is charged or input VAT is recoverable, the amounts are stated net of VAT.


Notes to the Accounts – continued 2. Statement of Operating Costs by Operating Segment

The reporting segments identified below are in line with the Management Board responsibilities. The Management Board reviews the annual budget and resource expenditure by function on a quarterly basis. Total assets and net assets are managed and controlled at a corporate level. 2018-19 has been reclassified to match the functions as described in the 2019-20 Business Plan,

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Reclassified

Function Gross Expenditure

Income Net Expenditure

Gross Expenditure

Income Net Expenditure

Parliamentary Services 17,053 (5) 17,048 15,088 (10) 15,078

Department of Facilities 63,591 (5,537) 58,054 81,360 (5,875) 75,485

Communications 2,742 - 2,742 2,757 - 2,757

Parliamentary Digital Services 14,258 (2) 14,256 14,253 (1) 14,252

Financial Resources (inc. Members’ allowances and expenses)

20,943 - 20,943 26,034 - 26,034

Human Resources 1,814 - 1,814 2,025 - 2,025

Corporate Services 7,706 (18) 7,688 6,399 (14) 6,385

Security 15,571 - 15,571 15,106 - 15,106

Centrally held funds 83 - 83 786 - 786

Total 143,761 (5,562) 138,199 163,808 (5,900) 157,908

Total Assets 690,920 647,642

Total Liabilities (12,495) (10,739)

Net Assets 678,425 636,903

The responsibilities are as follows:

• Parliamentary Services – Black Rod’s Office, Committee Office, Hansard, Journal Office, Legislation Office, and Library

• Department of Facilities, Catering and Retail Services, the Lords’ share of Strategic Estates, Restoration & Renewal and In-House Services costs

• Communications - External and Internal Communications, Education, Outreach and Visitor Services

• Parliamentary Digital Service – Lords’ share of the costs of the Parliamentary Digital Service

• Financial Resources – Finance Department, Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service and Members’ allowances and expenses

• Human Resources – Human Resources Office and Superannuation costs

• Corporate Services – Clerk of the Parliaments' Office, Lord Speaker’s Office, Overseas Office, Members ICT and Parliamentary Archives

• Security – Parliamentary security, including the Lords’ share of the costs of the Parliamentary Security Department and the Metropolitan Police

• Centrally held funds – budgets held at a corporate level


Notes to the Accounts – continued 3. Expenditure

Note 2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Staff Costs:

Wages and Salaries 24,966 23,864

Social Security Costs 3,020 2,918

Other Pension Costs 6,873 5,197

Members’ allowances and expenses 18,311 23,377

Estates & Works expenditure 38,881 26,413

Security 15,622 15,156

IT and telecommunication costs 8,122 8,317

Other expenditure 3,484 4,194

Printing and publications 117 151

Broadcasting, outreach and visitor services 3,387 3,205

Catering & Retail Services direct costs excluding staff costs 2,050 2,057

Grants 1.11 1,481 1,533

Rentals under operating leases 84 114

Financial Assistance for Opposition Parties 885 927

Service charge element of Finance Lease - (5)

Non-cash items

Depreciation 5 12,174 12,017

Finance lease asset depreciation 5 - 6

Amortisation 6 98 104

Net (gain)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment (9) 336

Net loss on revaluation of property, plant and equipment 3,686 33,852

Impairment 5 454 5

Auditor’s remuneration 75 70

Provision utilised during the year 11 - -

Total 143,761 163,808 Further analysis of staff costs is located in the Staff Report on page 49.

The auditors received no remuneration for non-audit work. In addition to the £884,568, (2018-19: £927,120) Financial Assistance for Opposition Parties above, staff costs of £88,044 (2018-19: £84,135) in relation to assistance for the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers have been incurred by the House of Lords and funded under the arrangements for Financial Assistance for Opposition Parties. Further information on Members’ Expenses and Financial Support, including the guide and details of payments made to Members, is available via www.parliament.uk.

http://www.parliament.uk/


Notes to the Accounts – continued 4. Income

2019-20 £000

2018-19 £000

Catering and Retail Services sales 5,275 5,648

Fees, charges and rental income 287 252

5,562 5,900

5. Property, plant and equipment

Land & Buildings excluding dwellings

Dwellings Fixtures

& Fittings Information Technology

Plant & Machinery

Heritage Assets

Assets Under

Construction Total

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Cost or valuation

At 1 April 2019 1,292,258 - 4,510 14,236 6,160 15,986 - 1,333,150

Additions 48,816 - 785 2,817 558 12 1,699 54,687

Disposals - - - (769) - - - (769)

Impairment - - (454) - - - - (454)

Reclassification (6,460) - - - - - 6,460 -

Revaluations 74,851 - - - - - - 74,851

At 31 March 2020 1,409,465 - 4,841 16,284 6,718 15,998 8,159 1,461,465

Depreciation

At 1 April 2019 674,569 - 3,242 10,212 1,388 - - 689.411

Charged in year 9,988 - 319 1,551 316 - - 12,174

Disposals - - - (746) - - - (746)

Reclassification (1,974) - - - - - 1,974 -

Revaluations 72,353 - - - - - - 72,353

At 31 March 2020 754,936 - 3,561 11,017 1,704 - 1,974 773,192

Net book value at 31 March 2020 654,529 - 1,280 5,267 5,014 15,998 6,185 688,273

Net book value at 31 March 2019 617,689 - 1,268 4,024 4,772 15,986 - 643,739

Asset Financing:

Owned 654,529 - 1,280 5,267 5,014 15,998 6,185 688,273

Finance leased on balance sheet (SoFP) service concession arrangement - - - - - - - -

Carrying amount at 31 March 2020 654,529 - 1,280 5,267 5,014 15,998 6,185 688,273


Notes to the Accounts – continued

Analysis of Land and Buildings Land Buildings

Freehold

Long Leasehold Freehold Long Leasehold Assets Under Construction Total

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

At 1 April 2019 62,033 38,210 1,133,158 58,857 - 1,292,258

Additions - - 46,779 2,037 1,699 50,515

Disposals - - - - - -

Reclassification - - - (6,460) 6,460 -

Revaluations (2,905) (1,179) 83,401 (4,466) - 74,851

At 31 March 2020 59,128 37,031 1,263,338 49,968 8,159 1,417,624

Depreciation

At 1 April 2019 - - 662,225 12.344 - 674,569

Charged in year - - 8,505 1,483 - 9,988


Reclassification - - - (1,974) 1,974 -

Revaluations - - 73,399 (1,046) - 72,353

At 31 March 2020 - - 744,129 10,807 1,974 756,910

Net book value at 31 March 2020 59,128 37,031 519,209 39,161 6,185 660,714

Net book value at 31 March 2019 62,033 38,210 470,933 46,513 - 617,689



Land & Buildings excluding dwellings

Dwellings Fixtures

& Fittings Information Technology

Plant & Machinery

Heritage Assets

Assets Under

Construction Total

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Cost or valuation

At 1 April 2018 1,323,745 3,891 3.928 12,931 3,091 15,986 50,753 1,414,325

Additions 45,824 - 587 1,921 1,487 - - 49,819

Disposals - (2,552) (5) (631) - - - (3,188)

Reclassification 49,156 (1,121) - 15 1,582 - (50,753) (1,121)

Revaluations (126,467) (218) - - - - (126,685)

At 31 March 2019 1,292,258 - 4,510 14,236 6,160 15,986 - 1,333,150

Depreciation

At 1 April 2018 699,922 667 2,885 9,567 1,068 - 1,840 715,949

Charged in year 10,060 18 357 1,268 320 - - 12,023

Disposals - (465) - (623) - - - (1,088)

Reclassification 1,840 (181) - - - - (1,840) (181)

Revaluations (37,253) (39) - - - - (37,292)

At 31 March 2019 674,569 - 3,242 10,212 1,388 - - 689.411

Net book value at 31 March 2019 617,689 - 1,268 4,024 4,772 15,986 - 643,739

Net book value at 31 March 2018 623,823 3,224 1,043 3,364 2,023 15,986 48,913 698,376

Asset Financing:

Owned 617,689 - 1,268 4,024 4,772 15,986 - 643,739

Finance leased on balance sheet (SoFP) service concession arrangement - - - - - - - -

Carrying amount at 31 March 2019 617,689 - 1,268 4,024 4,772 15,986 - 643,739



Analysis of Land and Buildings Land Buildings

Freehold

Long Leasehold Freehold Long Leasehold Assets Under Construction Total

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Cost or valuation reclassification reclassification reclassification reclassification

At 1 April 2018 57,244 39,513 1,184,112 42,876 49,156 1,372,901

Additions - - 42,344 3,480 - 45,824


Reclassification - - - 49,156 (49,156) -

Revaluations 4,789 (1,303) (93,298) (36,655) - (126,467)

At 31 March 2019 62,033 38,210 1,133,158 58,857 - 1,292,258

Depreciation

At 1 April 2018 - - 689,757 10,165 1,840 701,762

Charged in year - - 7,604 2,456 - 10,060


Reclassification - - - 1,840 (1,840) -

Revaluations - - (35,136) (2,117) - (37,253)

At 31 March 2019 - - 662,225 12.344 - 674,569

Net book value at 31 March 2019 62,033 38,210 470,933 46,513 - 617,689

Net book value at 31 March 2018 57,244 39,513 494,355 32,711 47,316 671,139

The opening balance for Assets under Construction has been amended to recognise the reclassification of £1,582k to Infrastructure Assets under Construction and £15k to Information Technology Assets under Construction. The opening balances for long leasehold, freehold and long leasehold buildings have been amended to correct the classification between the three headings.


Notes to the Accounts – continued Land and buildings The Parliamentary Estate was revalued during 2019-20 by the Valuation Office Agency on the basis of Depreciated Replacement Cost for the Palace of Westminster and the Visitors Reception Building, and Existing Use for the remainder of the Parliamentary Estate. The valuation date was 31 March 2020. The total value of the Palace as at 31 March 2020 was £1,416,171,864 (House of Lords share £566,468,746). The Parliamentary Estate was valued as at 31 March 2020, which was at the beginning of the government controls on movement and social distancing. The Covid-19 pandemic has generated economic uncertainty, including in the property market, which may have a future impact on the value of the Parliamentary Estate. It is too early to determine the impact on the House’s asset value and no provision has been made within these accounts for it. Fixtures and Fittings Fixtures and Fittings comprises all office and light equipment, including that of Catering and Retail Services. Plant and Machinery Plant and Machinery includes the clock mechanism, popularly known as ‘Big Ben’, which was last valued as at 31 March 2006. The total value was £3,234,000 (House of Lords share £1,293,000). Plant and Machinery also captures assets in regard to Estates Wide Infrastructure and Resilience works. The net book value of infrastructure assets as at 31 March 2020 was £3,158,000 (2018-19: £2,964,000). Heritage Assets The heritage assets that have been capitalised and included within the Statement of Financial Position are detailed by type of heritage asset below. i. Antique Furniture During 2015-16 the furniture was valued by Bonhams who gave an indicative valuation for purposes of insurance and a market value. The market value was the value used at 31 March 2016. The value of the antique furniture as at 31 March 2016 was £14,888,622. ii. Works of Art Works of Art acquired prior to 1 April 2000 are not included on the Statement of Financial Position. The value of Works of Art acquired after 1 April 2000 as at 31 March 2020 was £785,603 (2018-19: £773,603). iii. Historical Manuscripts The Parliamentary Archives occasionally purchase historical manuscripts which are important to the history of Parliament. The value of these manuscripts held within the Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2020 was £85,819 (2018-19: £85,819). iv. Members’ Robes The value of the donated Members’ Robes as at 31 March 2020 was £217,453 (2018-19: £217,453). Assets under Construction During 2019-20 renovations to one building commenced, the building value was transferred from ‘Land and Buildings’ to ‘Assets Under Construction’.


Notes to the Accounts – continued Revaluation of the Parliamentary Estate The revaluation exercise of property, plant and equipment during the year resulted in £6,183,932 of the revaluation gain being adjusted against the revaluation reserve, including the transfer between reserves (2018-19: £60,085,123 loss) and a loss of £3,686,061 being debited to operating costs (2018-19: £33,851,868 loss).

6. Intangible non current assets The House’s intangible non current assets comprise purchased software licences and other software.

2019-20 2018-19

£000 £000

Cost or valuation

At 1 April 3,243 3,241

Additions 56 2

Disposals (8) -

Revaluation - -

At 31 March 3,291 3,243

Amortisation

At 1 April 2,950 2,846

Charged in year 98 104

Disposals (6) -

Revaluation - -

At 31 March 3,042 2,950

Net book value at 31 March 249 293

Net book value at 1 April 293 395

7. Assets held for sale During November 2019, the remaining residential property was sold. The gain on disposal is reflected in note 3 of the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure.

8. Trade receivables and other current assets

31 March 2020 £000

31 March 2019 £000

Amounts falling due within one year:

Trade receivables 923 1,328

Deposits and advances 117 109

Prepayments and accrued income 205 246

VAT 432 406

1,677 2,089 Details of the year end balances relating to joint and shared services with the House of Commons are contained in note 14 Related-party transactions.


Notes to the Accounts – continued 9. Cash and cash equivalents

£000

Balance at 1 April 2019 103

Net change in cash and cash equivalent balances 122

Balance at 31 March 2020 225

31 March 2020 £000

31 March 2019 £000

The following balances were held at:

Government Banking Service 44 4

Commercial banks and cash in hand 181 99

Balance at 31 March 225 103

10. Trade payables and other current liabilities

31 March 2020 £000

31 March 2019 £000

Amounts falling due within one year

Trade payables 8,679 5,433

Other payables 1,313 2,303

Accruals and deferred income 2,278 2,900

Amounts issued from the Consolidated Fund for supply but not spent at year end

225 103

12,495 10,739

Details of the year end balances relating to joint and shared services with the House of Commons are contained in note 14 Related-party transactions.

11. Provisions for liabilities and charges No provisions were made in 2019-20 or 2018-19. 12. Contingent liabilities disclosed under IAS 37 There were no contingent liabilities within the meaning of IAS 37 as at March 2020 (31 March 2019: £nil).


Notes to the Accounts – continued 13. Capital and other commitments 13.1 Capital commitments

31 March 2020

£000 31 March 2019

£000 Contracted capital commitments at 31 March not otherwise included in these financial statements:

Property, plant and equipment12 14,995 23,015

13.2 Commitments under leases – operating leases Total future minimum lease payments under operating leases are given in the table below for each of the following periods:

31 March

2020 31 March

2019

Obligations under operating leases comprise:

£000 £000

Land and Buildings:

No later than one year 252 4

Later than one year and not later than five years 1,008 14

Later than five years 798 247

2,058 265

Other:

No later than one year 55 54

Later than one year and not later than five years 123 175

Later than five years - -

178 229

The House of Lords owns property leases for which the annual commitment is £1. 13.3 Commitments under PFI and other service concession arrangements The IT Network Service Contract, with Telent Technologies, was a four and a half year contract shared with the House of Commons which expired in April 2018. The substance of the contract was that of a finance lease and the payments comprise two elements: imputed finance lease charges and service charges. The total amount charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure in respect of the service element of on-balance sheet PFI or other service concession transactions was nil (2018-19: £5,238).

14. Related-party transactions The House of Lords and the House of Commons share some buildings and services. These include the Palace of Westminster, Strategic Estates, In-House Services, the Parliamentary Archives and the Parliamentary Digital Service. These joint arrangements are charged between the two Houses on an agreed percentage basis of underlying costs for each service (certain accommodation and overhead costs are excluded). Each House includes their share of the relevant asset base and/or service cost in their Resource Accounts. The percentage for each House for the key areas is as follows:

12 Reflects the significant capital expenditure programme on the Parliamentary Estate, in particular on the Palace of Westminster.



Service House of Lords House of Commons Strategic Estates and In-House Services 40% 60% Broadcasting Services 40% 60% Parliamentary Digital Service 30% 70% Visitor Tours, Education, Outreach 30% 70% Security 30% 70% Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service 30% 70% Parliamentary Archives 60% 40%

The House of Commons incurred expenditure of £119,597,000 (2018-19: £101,526,000) on behalf of the House of Lords during 2019-20. At the Financial year end the amount relating to accommodation, works and other shared services owed to the House of Commons by the House of Lords was £6,450,000 (2018-19: £3,361,000). The House of Lords incurred expenditure of £1,914,000 (2018-19: £1,657,000) on behalf of the House of Commons during 2019-20. At the financial year end the amount owed to the House of Lords by the House of Commons was £433,000 (2018-19: £319,000). A related party transaction took place during the year between the House of Lords Administration and a staff member who is married to Ed Ollard, Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting Officer during 2019-20. The transaction related to salary costs which were paid in accordance with civil service guidelines, applied by analogy. To ensure this relationship was managed objectively, Ed Ollard had no direct or indirect involvement in determining pay, position or promotion for the individual involved. Ed Ollard declared that, if a situation arose in which he, as Accounting Officer, would otherwise be involved in a decision that would directly affect this individual, he would play no role. Board members’ remuneration is disclosed in the Remuneration Report (page 45). 15. House of Lords Catering and Retail Services Trading Activities The House of Lords Catering and Retail Services provide a wide range of catering facilities to Members and House of Lords staff. An overall cost target for Catering and Retail Services is set each financial year by the Management Board. Further performance targets for trading in individual outlets of the department are also agreed. The Management Board has been pursuing a consistent policy of Catering and Retail Services deficit reduction for a number of years and continues to seek to reduce the net costs of the catering outlets. Total sales for 2019-20 including other income amounted to £5,275,397 (2018-19: £5,132,348). Total costs of Catering and Retail Services, including staff costs, costs of goods sold, and overheads, were £7,201,405 (2018-19: £6,376,414) meaning that in 2019-20 the net overall cost amounted to £1,926,008 (2018-19: £1,224,066). Included in the above is the net contribution from the Woolsack Bar, Banqueting and Retail operations of £911,253 (2018-19: £1,065,097).

16. Events after the reporting period In accordance with the requirements of IAS 10, Events after the reporting period are considered up to the date on which the accounts are authorised for issue. This is interpreted as at the date of the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body became a separate entity on 8 April 2020 and will take forward all works relating to the Restoration and Renewal Programme. In May 2020 the Sponsor Body commissioned a review of the Programme. Whilst they have made it clear that the works to the Palace are essential, there may be new opportunities to delivering the programme in a different way. The review will report to the Sponsor Body Board in the Autumn and the House will consider the accounting impact at this point. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on revenue generating activities and has caused additional costs the House did not expect to incur. As set out in the Accountability Report, steps have been taken by the House to reprioritise its resources and excesses that cannot be met will have to be funded from a Supplementary Estimate. In the Accounting Officer’s opinion there have been no events since 31 March 2020 that would affect the financial statements.


Audit Committee Annual Report 2019-20

Introduction

The Audit Committee is appointed by and reports to The House of Lords Commission. The Committee is chaired by an external member of the House of Lords Commission. The Committee’s terms of reference are set out below. Membership The membership of the Committee was unchanged during 2019-20. The House of Lords Commission reconfirmed the membership of the Committee together with the existing terms of reference in January 2020 when the Committee was reappointed after the General Election in December 2019. The Committee met six times during 2019-20, including two joint meetings with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

The agendas and approved minutes of the Committee are published on the Committee’s webpages.13. Attendance at the Audit Committee meetings in 2019-20 was:14 Member Party/Group Meetings attended / total

possible

Liz Hewitt (Chair) External member 6/6 John Beckerleg External member 5/6 Lord Fink Conservative 3/6 Baroness Fritchie Crossbench 5/6 Lord Haskel Labour 4/6 Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court Crossbench 5/6 Lord Shutt of Greetland Liberal Democrat 6/6 The external members of the Committee are remunerated for their work and paid through the House of Lords payroll. During 2019-20 the Chair was paid £26,000 per year (including her work as a Commission member) and John Beckerleg was paid £5,250. Travel expenses in line with House of Lords policy can be claimed. Members of the House of Lords may claim the daily allowance and related travel expenses for attendance at Committee meetings. In addition to the standard work of the Committee in maintaining oversight of risk, audit, governance and financial management, there were a number of areas where the Committee have taken a more intensive interest, in particular the work of the joint (with the House of Commons) Estates programme and the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster. Much of the focus on the Restoration and Renewal programme was in preparation for the transition to substantive form for the sponsor body and delivery authority in accordance with the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019. This work is set out in more detail below, broken down by headings drawn from the Committee’s terms of reference.

13 http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/ 14 Biographies of the external members of the Audit Committee can be found on the Parliamentary website,

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-lords-audit/membership/


The Committee reports to the House of Lords Commission twice a year, more frequently as needed. Internal audit work programme

In May 2019, the Committee reviewed and endorsed the internal audit programme for 2019-20. During the year, the Committee received, reviewed, and discussed internal audit reports and management letters on the areas below and, when relevant, gave specific advice to the Clerk of the Parliaments:

• Cyber Security Strategic Planning • Members’ ICT Equipment • Key ICT controls • CRS Gratuities and staff Christmas funds • Fire Doors Compartmentation • Financial Support to Members • Management and Control of R&R CAS Consultants • First- and Second-Line Assurance Arrangements • Mandatory Training • Devolved Budget holding • Pensions data validation • Security Clearance Procedures with HR • Fraud Reporting and Awareness • VAT procedures • External Mail Screening • CRS Non-Sponsored events • Review of Environmental Reporting

The Committee received a full programme of follow-up reports to previous internal audit reports to gain assurance that the actions set out in management responses had been undertaken. Management responses continue to be positive with the substantial majority of recommendations accepted and implemented. Internal audit reports include recommendations to improve value for money where such recommendations are required. The Committee monitored actions which have remained outstanding beyond the agreed implementation date, receiving a report on this subject at each meeting. The Committee also receives updates at meetings from the Head of Internal Audit on the progress made on the Internal Audit Plan. The Committee was pleased to see the results of the external review of House of Lords Internal Audit (conducted by Heads of Internal Audit from the Scottish Parliament and Ordnance Survey) which gave a positive assessment on the internal audit processes in the House of Lords. The Committee congratulated the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Head of Internal Audit and his team in the meeting on 6 February. The Committee relies on the reports produced by the Internal Audit team and is reassured this work complies with public sector internal audit standards.


Risk Management

The Committee reviewed and discussed the corporate risk register, including controls and mitigations at alternate meetings. In February 2020, the Chair decided to increase the review of the risk register from alternate meetings to every meeting from April 2020. The Committee has encouraged the Administration to review the Health and Safety risk to focus on making the building a safe place to work. The Committee discussed the risk register entry for the R&R programme and whether that risk was accurately reported on the register. The Committee advised management to consider the R&R programme as a whole and more than issues which were specific to the House of Lords. The Committee also discussed whether the Finance risk as described was correctly captured and whether it ought to acknowledge the financial risk associated with the R&R programme. Following the publication of the report by Naomi Ellenbogen QC on Bullying and Harassment in the House of Lords, the Committee also suggested that the Management Board reconsider whether to have a separate entry on the risk register to capture the response to that Report. The Committee noted that whilst good progress has been made in the area of risk, that to achieve embedding risk in the organisation further work is needed. The ownership and responsibility for specific risks transferred to the R&R programme was considered in greater detail at a joint meeting with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance Committee which is referred to later in this report. Governance, internal controls and good practice

Good governance and effective internal controls were of strong interest to the Committee over the course of the year. The Committee receives an annual report from the Head of Internal Audit to the Clerk of the Parliaments on the strength of governance arrangements, risk management and internal controls. The Head of Internal Audit provided moderate assurance on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of these arrangements. The Committee remained concerned about the levels of controls in place in Strategic Estates, although progress has been made in this area, the Committee has again noted that further work is needed, particularly in the areas of project scope and budgeting. Projects and programmes - Estates The Committee considered the following items relating to projects and programmes:

a. Internal audit report on the Fire Doors Compartmentation at the May meeting. The Committee was concerned about the unsatisfactory level of assurance and reflected wider concerns about programme management in Strategic Estates. The Committee asked for an update at their next meeting and for a separate paper about action tracking in Strategic Estates. That paper was considered at the July meeting;

b. At the July joint meeting with the House of Commons Administration Audit and Risk Estimate Committee the two Committees discussed the implementation review of Category A programmes and standalone projects. At the same meeting the Committees were updated on the progress of the Elizabeth Tower project, which continues to exceed budget;


c. In January 2020, the Chairs of the House of Lords Audit Committee and the House of Lords Finance Committee, the Senior Deputy Speaker and the other external member of the House of Lords Commission met the Director General of the House of Commons. The questions to the Director General followed the announcement that Strategic Estates and In-House Services would be merged and were focussed primarily on the structure and governance of the new department. The questions and responses shared with the Committee and the performance of the new department will remain of interest to the Committee.

The audits received by the Committee followed similar concerns that had been raised in previous years about programme management, including programme governance, internal controls, delays, and cost increases, and the ability to learn from past audits. The Committee maintains an active interest in the area of Estates programme management and continues to express its concerns about the weakness of budgetary and other controls in the Estates function, as it has done for several years. This has also been an area of comment for the external auditors. R&R programme The Committee has also maintained a close interest in the R&R programme ahead of the transition to substantive of the Delivery Authority and Sponsor Body for the R&R programme in accordance with the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019. Once those bodies have become fully substantive, the work of the R&R programme will be subject to the remit of their respective audit committees and not for the audit committees of the two Houses of Parliament. The Committee considered two audit reports on the R&R programme in October 2019. These reports had been considered in draft at the July meeting and were on Management and Control of the R&R Client Advisory Services Consultants and the First and Second line assurance in place (using the standard three lines of defence model). These reports provided moderate assurance and the Committee noted the conclusions had not changed from the draft versions considered in July. The quarterly reports produced by the shadow Sponsor Body (SSB) for the House of Lords Commission were also shared with the Audit Committee. In addition to those quarterly updates, the Committee also considered quarterly reports from the Independent Assurance Group which updated the Committee on the effectiveness of assurance systems in place on the R&R programme. Outside formal meetings, the Chair of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the House of Commons Audit Committee hold a quarterly meeting with Marta Phillips, a member of the SSB who will chair the Sponsor Body Audit Committee, to discuss the development of audit work. Marta Philips has also attended House of Lords Audit Committee meetings when R&R items were discussed. Ahead of the transfer of the R&R programme the Committee advised that the Clerk of the Parliaments take legal advice on the novation of contracts to the Sponsor Body and the Delivery Authority in order to determine the responsibility for risk associated with this programme.


Annual Report and Resource Accounts

The Committee has delegated authority from the Commission to review the annual report and resource accounts and advises the Clerk of the Parliaments on its contents. The Committee considers the accounts in July each year. Prior to the formal consideration by the Committee, a detailed review of the accounts is undertaken with the Finance Department and the NAO. All Committee members are invited to attend that meeting. The Chair also provides updates on the work of the Committee to the Commission. In its July meeting each year the Audit Committee reviews the assurance given to the Accounting Officer on the resource accounts. This includes reports from the Finance Director, the Head of Internal Audit (more detail about the latter assurance is set out above), and the NAO. At this meeting the Committee also has sight of the NAO’s report to Parliament. 2018-19 Annual Report and Resource Accounts The Committee considered and reviewed on behalf of the Commission the Resource Accounts for 2018-19 in July 2019. The Accounts were issued with an unqualified opinion by the external auditors. 2019-20 Annual Report and Resource Accounts In July 2020 the Committee will review the 2019-20 Annual Report and Resource Accounts. At the time of writing this report, no significant issues have been raised and it is expected that the accounts will be issued with an unqualified opinion by the external auditors. Joint meetings with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

The Committee met twice with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. The meeting in June 2019 considered a report on an implementation review of Category A projects and an update on progress made on the Elizabeth Tower. The committees also considered an internal audit report on the Parliamentary Security Department. The meeting held on 6 February 2020 considered a paper from the R&R shadow Sponsor Body concerning the transfer of risk from the two Houses to the R&R programme when the bodies become substantive. The agenda also included papers from the Finance Directors of both Houses of Parliament and the NAO about the impact on the accounts of both Houses of the transition of the R&R programme to substantive. The Committee gave advice to the Clerk of the Parliaments to emphasise the importance of taking legal advice for the novation of contracts from the two Houses to the programme. Audit Committee effectiveness

On 6 February 2020, the Committee considered the findings of a self-assessment questionnaire of effectiveness and agreed a number of action points for future work. The Committee agreed to seek improvements in collaborative working with (a) the House of Commons Estimate Audit and Risk Assessment Committee, including the level of attendance of MPs at joint meetings, and (b) with the National Audit Office. The Committee noted the forthcoming rotation off the Committee of several members. Prospective Members being considered for the Committee should be aware of the role of the Committee and the nature of the work expected from members.


Throughout the year, the Chair of the Committee has met key Administration officials between Audit Committee meetings (including the Finance Director, the Head of Internal Audit, and the Clerk of the Parliaments). In addition, one meeting between the Chair and the NAO has taken place. Administration and Committee Members

This has been a busy year for the Committee, particularly with the additional R&R programme work. I thank the Committee members, the Finance and Internal Audit teams, the NAO and other staff from both Houses and bicameral teams who have attended and presented at Audit Committee meetings for all their hard work and diligence in completing our work for the year. Liz Hewitt BSc (Econ) F.C.A Chair, Audit Committee

July 2020 Terms of Reference

The Commission has appointed the Audit Committee with the following Terms of Reference “(1) To consider internal and external audit reports and other material, and to assess management responses thereto; (2) To agree the annual internal audit work programme and to monitor progress against the audit plan; (3) To provide advice to the Clerk of the Parliaments in the exercise of his responsibilities as Accounting Officer; (4) To evaluate the adequacy of the risk management system and the suitability of the control arrangements reported to it, and to advise the Clerk of the Parliaments as Accounting Officer and the Management Board accordingly; (5) To encourage value for money, good financial practice, appropriate internal controls, and effective governance throughout the administration of the House; (6) To review the annual financial statements and accounts; (7) To make an annual report to the House, to be submitted, in the first instance, to the Commission and to be published with the House of Lords' Annual Report; (8) To work with the House of Commons Administration Estimate Audit Committee to monitor areas of joint interest of both Houses; (9) To review regularly the effectiveness of the Audit Committee.”

Declarations of Interest

The relevant financial interests of internal Members of the Committee are listed in the Register of Lords Interests. An up-to-date version of the Register can be found at: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/Lords-audit-committee/AC_External_Members_Declaration_of_Interests_20_Dec_2019.pdf

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/Lords-audit-committee/AC_External_Members_Declaration_of_Interests_20_Dec_2019.pdf

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/Lords-audit-committee/AC_External_Members_Declaration_of_Interests_20_Dec_2019.pdf


Appendix A: Composition of the House of Lords 2019-20 The size of the House increased by two this year. The average daily attendance decreased from 466 in 2018-19 to 434 in 2019-2020 (it was 448 from 1/04/2019 to 13/03/2020 and average attendance was 182 from 16/03/2020 to 31/03/2020)

Composition of the House as at 31 March 2019 Men Women Total Archbishops and bishops 21 5 26 Life peers under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 11 1 12

Life peers under the Life Peerages Act 1958 466 208 674 Peers under the House of Lords Act 1999 90 1 91 Total 588 215 803

Of whom: 17 members were on leave of absence, one member disqualified as an MEP and four were disqualified as senior members of the judiciary (leaving 781 members eligible to attend).

Composition of the House as at 31 March 2020 Men Women Total Archbishops and bishops 21 5 26

Life peers under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 10 1 11

Life peers under the Life Peerages Act 1958 462 215 677

Peers under the House of Lords Act 1999 90 1 91

Total 583 222 805

Of whom: 13 members were on leave of absence and four were disqualified as senior members of the judiciary (leaving 788 members eligible to attend).

During the year 10 members died, 12 members retired, no members left the House due to non-attendance, 22 new life peers were created, 2 bishops joined the House, 1 bishop retired, no bishop was translated between sees and 1 hereditary peer joined the House following a by-election.

At the end of the year the state of the parties/groups in the House was as follows: • Conservative 244 • Labour 178 • Liberal Democrat 91 • Crossbench 184 • Other 65 • Bishops 26 • TOTAL 788

(These figures exclude 17 members on leave of absence or disqualified.)


Appendix B: Activity Data

2018/19 2019/20

House Sitting days 161 133 Average length of sitting 5:54 5:43 Time sitting after 10pm (h:m) 12:33 21:27 Amendments considered 2,513 779 Questions for Written Answer tabled 8,072 6,482 Divisions 71 51 Grand Committees 41 24 Average length of Grand Committee 3:11 2:45 Committees Number of committee meetings 725 499 Total committee reports 153 123

Committee Office 57 62 Legislation Office 96 61

Number of committee witnesses* N/A 501 Members Members at period end 781 788 Average daily attendance 467 433 Average division size 369 354 Research Library enquiries 6,140 4,627

Of which from Members 4,567 3,359 Research briefings published 292 297 Briefings distributed by Library 61,461 85,886 Briefings unique views/downloads (Intranet/Website/HousePapers) 100,300

147,941

Facilities Members with desk on estate 620 627 Members with desk in Palace (inc. in above) 360 367 Banqueting events 1,071 949 Retail sales (£) 497,866 459,761 Retail transactions 14,551 12,608 CRS outlet transactions 363,832 340,286 Human Resources Vacancies at period end 77 81 Full time equivalent employees at period end (excluding career breaks and secondees)

520.2 537.8

Turnover* N/A 4.5% Number of jobs advertised 103 122 Finance Invoices processed 14,981 13,072 Member claims processed 7,390 7,087 Number contracts awarded 325 298 Value of those contracts (£) 131,174,725 107,596,256 Number of cancelled procurements 12 6


External Comms Followers @ukhouseoflords (cumulative) 260,552 289,600 Lords views on parliamentlive 293,430 288,512 Inquiries to Enquiry Service 5,326 4,320 Peers in schools visits 158 40 Archives inquiries 5,206 5,008 Search room visitors 785 726 FOI requests 190 193 Public gallery 23,939 26,597 Total visitors

490,374 546,699

Total number of school age visitors N/A 544,217 Digital Members: users of Parliamentary Network 594 585 Members: total new items of IT equipment issued 770

222

Lords Admin staff: number of parliamentary network accounts 613

612

*new data for 2019/20

Documents

Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2019-20 · 2020. 8. 28. · Management Commentary 21 Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities 26 Governance Statement 27 Climate change,