Debate contribution: Automated Cleaning Services: Parliament Buildings
Debate contribution by Miss Nuala McAllister on .
- MLA
- Miss Nuala McAllister
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 1 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Automated Cleaning Services: Parliament Buildings
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4876973
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I will group questions 3 and 8. I thank the Members for their questions. The Commission requires its support services contractor to provide comprehensive cleaning services in Parliament Buildings that ensure that the accommodation is maintained to an excellent standard. The use of a single Co-bot vacuum and scrubber-dryer was introduced in 2023 to support Aramark’s team on-site, in the context of the budgetary constraints set out by the Assembly Commission and the reduction in footfall in office buildings due to the introduction of working-from-home policies. The Co-bot works alongside a member of Aramark’s team. Aramark manages the implementation of its contract in Parliament Buildings and retains all responsibilities for employing its staff. As such, Aramark's staff sit outside of the joint Assembly Commission management/trade union side negotiating body. Despite that, Aramark carried out a consultation exercise with staff in 2023 in advance of the changes due to the automation. The consultation exercise highlighted the fact that the changes required were a minimal, voluntary reduction of hours or the redeployment of staff within the contract’s other services provided at Parliament Buildings. The cleaning contract has performed well and provided a quality service for the users of Parliament Buildings, with high levels of hygiene and health and safety. That was recognised by the cleaning industry at the Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards 2024 when Parliament Buildings won the best-cleaned premises award for office areas between 10,000 and 30,000 square metres.
246 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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