Parliament shouldn’t dismiss its guides lightly
SIR – I was interested to read your report (June 18) about the poor Blue Badge guides who have been “sacked” as a result of changes to the organisation of tours of Parliament.
Blue Badge guides were contracted and paid by a commercial organisation for tours when Parliament was in recess, or on Saturdays, when tourists paid £25.
However, no mention was made of the many in-house guides – like me – who have worked in Parliament for years, and are employed by the House of Commons on a part-time basis to lead hundreds of free tours arranged by MPS for their constituents each week when Parliament is in session. We are fully accredited and trained, and take pride in guiding visitors round such a historic building.
Although we have technically been given the opportunity to apply for the new posts, only a handful of us have been taken on. New guides – now called Visitor Engagement Assistants – have been taken on, although some had never set foot in Parliament before their interviews.
It is a travesty that we are losing the jobs we love because of this change by a parliamentary tours office with little comprehension of the vast experience being thrown out with the bath water.
Sue Dennis
London N6