Offsite Storage for the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries and Parliamentary Archives

The Corporate Officers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords (the Authority) would like to notify the market of a potential upcoming requirement. This Request for Information (RFI) seeks information relating to Offsite Storage for the House of Commons and House of Lords libraries and the Parliamentary Archives.

The House of Commons Library, the House of Lords Library and Parliamentary Knowledge and Information Team (PKI) require storage of their collections, meeting archival storage requirements, including environmental standards, security and access arrangements. They have separate sets of items to store but they consist of the following types of material:

• Archival boxes
• Other boxes
• Cabinets
• Oversize items

We initially require space for 1047m3 but could require 1150m3. Over the duration of the contract the amount of storage may increase further. There may also be a requirement to assist with removal of collections from the Parliamentary Estate.

The purpose of this questionnaire is to engage with the market ahead of a procurement exercise for the offsite storage services. We will use the insights we gain here to shape our requirements for that procurement.

We expect to agree this contract for an initial period of 5 years, with the possibility of 5 x 1 year extension options (5+1+1+1+1+1).