Mike Penning has called on the Speaker of the House of Commons to provide better services for hard of hearing and visually impaired visitors.

Following a visit yesterday by a group of constituents from the Hemel Morning Deaf Group to the House of Commons, Mike Penning has called on the Speaker of the House to set up arrangements for the provision of BSL interpreters and other facilities to enable deaf, hard of hearing and visually impaired visitors to fully appreciate their visit.

Mike Penning told the Speaker:

“This morning, I had the honour of welcoming 13 of my constituents on a tour of the House of Commons. As they are profoundly deaf or hard of hearing, they found it very difficult to do a fulfilling tour of the House of Commons because there are no facilities within the Palace for the hard of hearing or the visually impaired. Will any money be spent on improving that deficiency during the investments that we are making in the visitor centre, in trying to improve our constituents’ time in this House?”

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Mike Martin, has promised to look into the matter.

“The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, especially for me, because as Chairman of the Commission I am involved in these works. We want to encourage as many visitors as possible” he said.