Letter: Relight my fire
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The seasons are changing, but Parliament Hall stays cold. It is a public space. It is the workplace of court staff, counsel and solicitors. It is a waiting room and a witness room. It is an events space.
Parliament Hall used to have a coal fire lit on Tuesdays to Fridays between October and the end of April each year, but, on a slow news day in January 2024, some newspapers picked up a story from the (admirable) news site, The Ferret, reporting that:
“Scotland’s court service is burning hundreds of kilograms of coal each winter so lawyers can enjoy fires at a historic building on the Royal Mile – despite Scottish government pledges to make public sector buildings friendlier to the environment.”
The fires went out in March 2024 and have never been relit. It is time for a rethink.
Recently, I noticed that at the International Women’s Day gathering on March 6, the crowd that came to hear the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, speak was huddled in their coats, and many headed off to warmer places as soon as the speeches ended. Not much networking there. It had been the same story on February 20 when there was a ceremony in the hall at which the Old Edinburgh Club presented a rare 17th-century print showing the Scottish Parliament in session around 1680 to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. I was there as the attendees gathered, and it was noticeably chilly.
The space has been rendered practically useless for daily chats and evening receptions.
The Ferret found that 625kg of coal was burned annually, about one 25kg bag per week.
Someone decided not to relight the fires in 2024. A civil servant, probably. It would be tempting to say that it was someone who knew the cost of everything and the value of nothing. But it couldn’t have been the cost. The coal costs about £450 a year, and there was some expense involved in laying the fires and sweeping the chimney. It would be interesting to know what has happened to the overall heating bill, as I am told that heating elsewhere has had to be turned up to counter the chill breeze whistling down the hall into courtrooms and offices.
I haven’t gone to the trouble of finding out how much coal the Scottish government and its agencies use to heat castles and other historic buildings. I haven’t looked because it doesn’t matter.
There needn’t be a climbdown, there need not be a ceremony. Next autumn, we will just notice that Parliament Hall is warmer and busier. Lord President, Dean of Faculty, Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary: relight the fire.
Bryan Heaney
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