Visitors on the move as parliament undergoes another reshuffle

Published on Saturday 27 December 2008 09:56

VISITORS to the Scottish Parliament are changing rooms for the fourth time in as many years.

Holyrood bosses have ordered the relocation of the visitors' waiting room as part of a reshuffle to free up more space for meetings.

A report by parliament officials said statistics showed the current waiting room was underused, with only 83 visitors using it over a six-month period.

Now one of the smaller ground-floor meeting rooms – which seats four – is to be converted to a waiting room and the current waiting room, which seats ten, will become a meeting room.

When the 414 million Holyrood building opened in October 2004, visitors with business at the parliament entered via Queensberry House, where a reception counter and specially-furnished waiting area had been created. But after the G8 summit and the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, visitors had to use the Canongate entrance, where a scanner and walk-through metal detector were installed, and a row of chairs was provided.

Then in 2006, thousands of pounds were spent to create a new waiting room.

The report on the latest change said: "We will monitor the new waiting room to ensure that it continues to meet members' needs."