Author: W4MP Editor

Meet the Director: People and Culture

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Time: 11:30 – 14:00
Date: Tuesday 8 July 2025
Location: Portcullis House Hub

Directors from key House Administration teams that provide services to Members will be available to answer your questions, listen to your feedback, or if you just want to learn more about how their teams can support you in carrying out your parliamentary duties.

Meet:

  • Richard Shoreland, Managing Director of People and Culture
  • Margaret McKinnon, Director of Member and Members’ Staff Services
  • Jo Willows, Director of Members’ Staff Engagement
  • Josie Lazenby, Head of Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing.

Library/NAO talk: Regulation in the water sector

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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has overall responsibility for setting the policy and regulatory framework for England. In the 2023 Plan for Water, it set out the challenges of growing demand for water and the impacts of climate change. It highlighted the need to cut waste, improve water efficiency, and invest in new infrastructure to deliver clean and plentiful water.

In this report the NAO look at the effectiveness of regulatory frameworks in incentivising investment in the water sector and achieving the outcomes set for the sector and whether government and regulators are clear what outcomes the water industry needs to achieve and the investment needed; if regulation is successfully incentivising investment and meeting desired outcomes and targets; and if regulators can respond to the current investment challenges.

The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. It supports Parliament in holding government to account and helps improve public services through its audits.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 3 July 2025
Location: Online Via Teams
Registration: via ACT

Does the United Kingdom have a constitution?

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House of Commons Library Talk

Session outline

It is often asserted that the UK doesn’t have a constitution, or that it is ‘unwritten’. This talk will test that proposition on the basis of standard constitutional sources.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 10 July 2025
Location: Online
Registration: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=7507

Library Talk: The United Nations at 80

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2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. This talk gives an overview of the United Nations, how its work has evolved over 80 years, and the challenges it faces in the future. The talk will also explore the UK’s role at the United Nations, including as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 26 June 2025
Location: Online via Teams
Registration: via ACT

POST – The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

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The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is an impartial research and knowledge exchange service based in the UK Parliament. POST works to ensure members of parliament from both Houses have access to the latest evidence and expertise on complex and emerging topics. It is a valuable resource for parliamentarians looking for clear, impartial research evidence on a wide range of science and social science topics, covering health and the environment to housing and computing.

POST:

  • Publishes impartial briefings, drawing on cutting-edge research evidence, and tailored to the needs of parliament. Our unique approach involves extensive consultation with experts and stakeholders. We focus on topical issues where the research evidence is emerging or particularly complex covering science and social science, from health and the environment to housing and computing.
  • Helps parliamentarians connect with the external experts they need through our UK-wide network of academic and research institutions.

To find out more about POST, read their research briefings and learn about how they can help you with your work, find them on the parliament website at post.parliament.uk

More information about their services can be found on ParliNet.

Library talk: NATO summit preview and the UK armed forces

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The government is expected to set out its defence and foreign policy priorities before the NATO summit. This talk will highlight the key points and lookahead to the main topics of discussion for NATO at its summit on 24-26 June.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 19 June 2025
Location: Online Via Teams
Registration: Via ACT