– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 27 Hydref 1947.
Select Committee appointed to control the arrangements for the Kitchen and Refreshment Rooms in the department of the Serjeant at Arms attending this House:—To consist of Seventeen Members:—Commander Agnew, Mr. Alexander Anderson, Mrs. Ayrton Gould, Mr. Bartlett, Lieutenant-Commander Gurney Braithwaite, Mr. Collins, Viscountess Davidson, Mr. Haydn Davies, Mr. Guy, Mr. Keeling, Mr. Arthur Lewis, Mr. McEntee, Mr. Mainwaring, Captain Marsden, Sir Henry Morris-Jones, Mrs. Nichol and Mrs. Ridealgh:—Power to send for persons, papers and records:—Three to be the Quorum.—[Mr. R. J. Taylor.]
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
The Serjeant at Arms has two main areas of responsibility. First he has duties relating to the order and security of the House of Commons. He is responsible for maintaining order in the Chamber, Galleries, Committee Rooms and precincts of the House of Commons, and the control of access to them. By tradition the post is usually given to an ex-serviceman and the Serjeant at Arms is the only person in the House of Commons allowed to carry a sword. The Serjeant at Arms Department also has housekeeping duties which include the allocation and booking of accommodation for MPs, cleaning of the House and the supply of stationery, laundry and other stores. The office of Serjeant at Arms goes back to 1415 and the reign of Henry V when the Serjeant was responsible for carrying out the orders of the House of Commons, including making arrests. Today he performs several ceremonial duties that date back to the early days of the office. He carries the mace in the Speaker's Procession each day and also into the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament.
