Overview

Portcullis House is modern building opposite the Houses of Parliament which provides additional office space for members of parliament and their staff. It's also a meeting venue and open for pre-bookable public events and occasional tours.

Transport & Parking

Portcullis House is adjacent to Westminster tube station, with step free access to the jubilee, district and circle line. Portcullis House is Exit 4. There are also a number of bus routes that stop close by.

Access

There's a choice of ramp or stairs to access Portcullis House's main entrance. The main entrance is a revolving door but there is an adjacent door with an intercom post for disabled access. Once inside there is airport type security. The event was taking place in in one of the committee rooms on the first floor. There are stairs or lift o get to the other floors. We went in the lift and was accompanied by a member of staff. Then it was level access to the meeting room. The room was laid out with rows of movable chairs and after the talk there was a drinks reception in the adjoining room. When we left we were escorted in the lift. Please note that only part of the building is open to the general public and usually there is no access to the ground floor atrium. At the event we attended there was no sign language interpreter and I would assume that anyone requiring that would have had to contact the organisers directly regarding provision or otherwise of this, as there was no information about this on the Eventbrite booking page.

Toilets

There was an accessible toilet on the first floor. The toilet area was spacious, clean and had grab rails. There was an emergency red cord and on the wall they had their own notice about the importance of letting the cord hang freely and it also provided an emergency contact telephone number.

Staff

Staff were helpful, welcoming and had good disability awareness. When I arrived they immediately noticed that I had a crutch and quickly put it through the scanner and returned it to me before I proceeded through security. Likewise they accompanied us in the lift.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

We attended Portcullis House to attend an event about Votes for Women, called "What Difference did the War Make" which was one of a number of free events which are being held this year at Portcullis House for the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. However they organise events throughout the year on various topics. The parliament.uk website has very helpful accessibility information on it including detailed information, photos and an access video.

Photos