Dear Sir or Madam,

As you are certainly aware, a controversy recently erupted over the
arrest of Mr Damian Green MP and the search of his Palace of
Westminster office by the MPS. At the core of the issue was how and
on which authority the MPS had received permission to enter the
Palace and to perform its search.

In response to this incident, the Speaker of the House of Commons
has drawn up guidelines (a "protocol") on how to deal with such
situations should they ever arise again. As reported in Hansard,
the Speaker made, in pertinent parts, the following statement:

"A warrant will always be required when a search of a Member's
office, or access to a Member's parliamentary papers, is sought.
Every case must be referred for my personal decision, as it is my
responsibility. All this will be made clear in a protocol issued
under my name to all hon. Members."

May I ask you whether the House of Lords administration, especially
but not limited to the Office of the Lord Speaker, the Office of
Black Rod, the Office of the Clerk of Parliaments and the Office of
the Leader of the House have held consultations on how a similar
case would be treated in the House of Lords and whether similar (to
the HoC's) protocol should be issued. I would like to request
access to all records and documents relevant to and produced for,
in or after such discussions by any member of the House of Lords'
staff.
This includes "the protocol" if any such has been issued (I am
using the term protocol analogously to the usage of Mr Speaker) as
well as formal or informal guidance that has been given to staff
members including Black Rod on how to deal with such cases, viz.
and in plain language: "The MPS or any other police service
standing in front of the doors and requesting access to search a
member's office, to seize material belonging to a member, to arrest
a member in the premises of the Palace of Westminster or to perform
any other police business in the Palace which has a connection with
or targets a Member of the House of Lords"

I am aware that there have been short exchanges on the Floor of the
House on these matters and obviously, as material already
published, I am not requesting access to it under FOI terms.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Bimmler

Thank you for your email.

The House of Lords Information Office receives large numbers of e-mails and we aim to reply within 10 working days. If you need the information sooner please telephone the House of Lords Information Office on 020 7219 3107.

The Information below may answer many of your enquiries:

For queries about Judicial Work -please call the Judicial Office on 020 7219 3111.

If you have access to the Internet you may find the answers to most of your queries on the House of Lords pages of the parliament web site: www.parliament.uk

For queries about Appointments to the House of Lords, contact the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which is a separate independent body and NOT part of the House of Lords:

Write: The House of Lords Appointments Commission
35 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BQ

Telephone: 020 7276 2005

For an Information Pack call: 020 7276 2315

Web: www.lordsappointments.gov.uk

Thank you.

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Dear Mr. Bimmler,

Further to your request, which was received by the House of Lords
administration on 8 January, I can confirm that the House administration
holds information relevant to your request.

The attached document refers to a paper by the Clerk of the Parliaments
which sets out the current position in respect of police access to the
precincts of the House of Lords for the purpose of searching a Member's
office, and includes a draft protocol. This document will be made
available on the parliamentary website ([1]www.parliament.uk) in the next
few days. I will write to you again with the details as soon as the
document is published.

The House administration also holds other relevant documents, but the
information in them is exempt information under Part II of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and is subject to the attached copy of a certificate
signed by the Clerk of the Parliaments. Please let me know if you would
like a hard copy of the certificate.

Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides that any person
may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision whether, in any
specified respect, a request for information made by the complainant to a
public authority has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements
of Part I of the Act. In this context you should have regard to the fact
that under section 2(3) the exemptions conferred by sections 34 and 36 are
absolute exemptions and to the terms of sections 34(3) and 36 (7).

The Freedom of Information Act can be accessed at:
[2]http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukp...

Yours sincerely,

Frances Grey

Freedom of Information Officer

020 7219 0100

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.parliament.uk/
2. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukp...

Dear Ms Grey,

many thanks for your reply.

I am looking forward to your notification of a link to the Protocol
in question as soon as the same is published.

For my own records, I would be grateful if you could send me the
offered hard copy of the Clerk´s Certificate. My postal address is:

Mr
Michael Bimmler

[ postal address removed ]

Last but not least: In your answer, you refer to the fact that the
requester may file a complaint with the Information Commissioner´s
Office concerning the handling of his request by the public
authority. It is my understanding, that the ICO will not usually
deal with a complaint until the authority´s internal complaint
procedures have been exhausted. Usually, public authorities have a
system of "Internal Review" in place for FOI requests. Could you
please confirm that, as a decision has already been made by the
Clerk of the Parliaments, no Internal Review is available and any
complaint would directly need to be taken to the ICO?

I am very grateful for your kind assistance in this matter,

Yours sincerely,

Michael Bimmler

Dear Mr Bimmler,

Thank you for your e-mail of 5 February.

In response to your request for a hard copy of the Clerk of the
Parliaments' certificate relating to your request for information, I have
posted a copy to the address you supplied.

The paper by the Clerk of the Parliaments setting out the current position
in respect to police access to the precincts of the House of Lords for the
purpose of searching a Member's office, which includes a draft protocol,
is now available as DEP2009-0343 on the parliamentary website at
[1]http://deposits.parliament.uk./ . To access it, you will need to save a
copy onto your computer. You will then be able to open the two constituent
Word documents. If you experience any problems doing this, then please do
not hesitate to contact me.

With regards to your final query about the procedures for making a
complaint, the Clerk of the Parliaments as the authorised officer of the
House of Lords may refuse to disclose information on the ground of either
parliamentary privilege (section 34) or prejudice to the effective conduct
of public affairs (section 34). A certificate signed by him is conclusive
of the fact, on the ground that it is exempt information by virtue of
section 34 (parliamentary privilege) or section 36 (prejudice to the
effective conduct of public affairs) of the Freedom of Information Act
2000. A certificate signed by him under section 34(3) and 36(7) is
conclusive of the facts certified in it, and the Information Commissioner
would not have jurisdiction on a complaint under section 50 of the Act to
reach a different view on the facts so certified.

However, if you have a complaint that relates more generally to the way in
which your request has been handled, for instance, as respects section 11
or 17 of the Act, then you would, of course, be entitled to ask the House
of Lords to conduct an internal review. Requests for an internal review
should be addressed to [email address] , or to the Freedom of
Information Officer, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW. Arrangements will be
made for someone who has not been involved in dealing with your request to
conduct an internal review within 20 working days.

If, following this review, you remain dissatisfied with the House's
treatment of your request for information, then you may take your
complaint to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

I hope that clarifies the situation with regards to complaints. If you
have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Frances Grey

Freedom of Information Officer

020 7219 0100

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References

Visible links
1. http://deposits.parliament.uk/