House of Representatives to resume nearly all its work, public once again welcome
As of 1 September 2020, the House of Representatives is to resume nearly all of its regular parliamentary work. The House will also be open to the public again, albeit in a restricted form. The President of the House of Representatives, Khadija Arib, wrote to MPs to inform them of this on Wednesday August 26.
Parliamentary process almost fully resumed
As from 1 September, sittings at the House of Representatives will almost return to normal. The House continued to work throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and the number of debates and committee activities taking place was increased from 9 April. Online meetings can still be held after 1 September, for procedural sessions of committees, for example.
Handing in petitions in person
Organisations and individual citizens can personally hand a maximum of two petitions to MPs on Tuesday afternoons between 13:15 and 14:00 at a pre-arranged spot in the Central Passageway. Petitions may also be handed in online.
‘Day trippers’ and visitors to debates: reserve in advance
Anyone intending to visit the House of Representatives must reserve in advance. People can make reservations from 1 September via this website. They must reserve a specific time slot. Having reserved a time slot, visitors can also visit an exhibition or take a look at the Central Passageway, for example. On arrival, all visitors will be asked whether they have any symptoms of COVID-19. Visitors must also leave contact details.
Access to the public gallery and audio facilities
If there is room, visitors may enter the public gallery of the Plenary Hall during their time slot. A maximum of thirty visitors may be in the public gallery at any one time. The amount of time that visitors can spend in the public gallery during their time slot, and the exact timing of this visit, depends on the capacity of the gallery. Reserving a time slot guarantees access to the building, but not to the public gallery. Visitors can only follow committee meetings via an audio facility. All public meetings are live-streamed on the House of Representatives website and via the Debat Direct app.
School visits
ProDemos will be resuming tours of the House of Representatives complex for schoolchildren on Mondays and Fridays. This will initially involve two groups per day.