Holyrood chiefs pay £17,000 for lobby's chairs and tables

Published on Thursday 14 May 2009 09:42

SCOTTISH Parliament bosses have spent more than £50,000 on new tables and chairs for the Holyrood building less than five years after it opened.

Fifty-two swish black "tub" chairs and 13 tables for the garden lobby – a favourite meeting spot for politicians looking for a coffee and a chat – cost nearly 17,000 alone.

Officials said the purchase meant there were now twice as many seats available in that part of the building.

They said the new chairs were more user-friendly because they were higher than the previous ones and easier for people with mobility issues to use.

Today politicians said that should have been thought of when the furniture was being ordered in the first place.

Edinburgh Pentlands MSP David McLetchie said: "It would have been desirable to have got the seating right from the start.

"All furniture eventually needs replaced, but if we'd chosen better in the first place, we might not be renewing it after only five years. If these chairs are better suited for people with mobility problems, that's something we have to take into consideration."

SNP South of Scotland MSP Christine Grahame said she used the garden lobby a lot.

But she said: "It would have been good if we'd had them in the first place. The old chairs were difficult to get out of and people used to go and get chairs from the canteen instead."

The parliament said it had bought a total of 158 new chairs and 40 tables and the total cost was 45,265, excluding VAT, but once the tax is added, the bill ends up at just over 52,000.

As well as the lobby, new chairs and tables are earmarked for the public cafe, the waiting area in the main entrance and outside the members' restaurant.

The chairs and tables which used to be in these areas are to be moved to other parts of the building, including meeting rooms and the corridors in the MSP block.

A parliament spokeswoman said the new chairs increased seating capacity by 30-50 per cent in several areas popular with visitors and staff around Holyrood.

She added that the money had come from an existing budget.

She said: "We have increased the seating capacity in the garden lobby by more than 50 per cent.

"This is one of the busiest parts of the building and on business days in particular there can be a shortage of seating."