Author: W4MP Editor

Health Kiosk in Richmond House

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Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.

https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/

A Health Kiosk has been installed in the ground floor Richmond House Community Hub. It’s available to use 24/7, at a time that is most convenient to you and is available for all passholders to use.

What is it? Have a look at this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhNgBqBGBTU

For further information on the Health Kiosk, please see this intranet page

Make the Most of the Commons Library

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Join the Library Team for a short session to learn how the Library can support your work. These sessions are ideal for those who have recently started working for a Member or if you simply want a refresher in how to use Library resources.

The resources they cover will help you in your policy, research and casework.

By the end of the session you will be able to:

  • Find and use key Library products including briefing papers, casework articles and data dashboards.
  • Keep up to date with the latest research and developments through our email alerts
  • Know how to use the Library request service
  • Access our online services such as Nexis news and Grantfinder

The sessions are delivered over MS Teams by Library colleagues who all have extensive experience of working with Members and their staff.

To book, click here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=81
Note: you must be logged into the Parliamentary intranet to access the course booking system.

  • 3 March 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00
  • 11 April 2023 – 14:00 – 15:30
  • 17 May 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00
  • 15 June 2023 – 14:00 – 15:30
  • 10 July 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00

Useful new guides from the Commons Library

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The House of Commons Library website contains a wealth of information which is of use not only to Members of Parliament and their staff, but are also accessible by members of the public.

The latest guides to be published are:

You can find more constituency casework guides here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-casework/

Plan your accommodation ahead for the Coronation of HM King Charles III & Key Dates for 2023

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The Parliamentary Travel Office is preparing for the key global events throughout Spring and Summer, which will impact hotel rates and limit availability:

  • King’s Coronation on Saturday, 6th May
  • Wimbledon Tennis Championships from Monday, 3rd July to Sunday, 16th July
  • London Fashion Week from Saturday, 10th June to Monday, 12th June
  • London Fashion Week from Friday, 15th September to Tuesday, 19th September

Hotel accommodation will be highly sought after for several nights prior to, and after these events and is likely to be in short supply.

If your MP is planning to attend the King’s Coronation, please contact the Parliamentary Travel Office with your request by Friday, 25th February.

If you or your MP need to stay in London around any other key dates outlined above, please contact the Parliamentary Travel Office as soon as possible with your request.

The team will try their best to secure the contracted UK Parliament, or best available rates, with our preferred hotel suppliers however this may not always be possible.

Contact details: email [email protected] or call 020 7219 4232 on weekdays between 8:30am – 6pm.

Briefing note for Members’ Office Managers from the Cybersecurity Team 8/2/23

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Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.

https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/

Please note that you will need to have a Parliamentary Network Account in order to access some of the links on this page.

Last week the Speakers of both houses sent notices to members regarding spear-phishing attempts.

You may have seen in the news today that MP Stewart McDonald has been subject to a cyber attack on his personal emails.

In the media: SNP MP Stewart McDonald’s emails hacked by Russian group – BBC News

The source of the attack is thought to be a Russian based group called SEABORGIUM. We are briefing you to raise your awareness of the tactics used and the measures you should take to protect your personal accounts. It applies to both members and to members’ staff, so I ask that you to share the guidance with your teams. This is a quick briefing for now to update you and further more comprehensive communications issued in due course.

What you need to know:

  • Stewart McDonald’s personal email was compromised
  • The hackers achieved this by compromising the personal email account of one of his staff, who was locked out
  • The group sent Stewart an email from the staff account with a malicious password-protected attachment
  • The topic of the email was relevant to the member’s work and looked like a genuine message from his staff

Our advice:

  • Be sure that you are communicating with the individual you think you are – if possible, use a separate means of contact to validate this
  • Do not click on links or open files unless you are sure of their source
  • Secure your personal accounts – use strong, unique passwords and turn on multi-factor/2-factor authentication on your social media accounts and personal email
  • Use a different password for your Parliamentary account
  • Use Parliamentary devices for Parliamentary business whenever possible
  • Do not set up any automatic email-forwarding between your Parliamentary email and personal accounts
  • Protect and update your personal devices. Security tips for your mobile phone – intranet PDF
  • Book a cyber security briefing with your local engagement team
  • Report suspicious messages or activity to the Parliamentary Digital Support Desk by calling x2001

For more insight on phishing visit the cyber security intranet pages. The ‘Think Before You Link’ app, from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) helps you identify malicious online profiles and reduce the risk of being targeted. For further information, visit Think before you link app – CPNI webpage.

Vote Office: Training for Members’ Staff

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Members’ staff are invited to learn more about the Vote Office and the services it offers to support their work.

Introduction to the Vote Office

Time: 11:30 – 12:15
Date: Monday 30 January 2023
Location: Virtual, MS Teams
Booking: contact x3631, [email protected]

This virtual session will provide an introduction of how the Vote Office helps Members’ offices to navigate parliamentary business.  

Both Westminster and constituency-based staff are welcome. The session is suitable for anyone who has recently joined a Member’s office or would like a refresher on our services. 

The session covers:

  • The role of the Vote Office. 
  • How we can assist you in your roles as Members’ Staff. 
  • An overview of the House’s business papers and the Vote Office’s digital services. 

The session will last approximately 30 minutes, with time for questions afterwards.

For more information and to sign up, please email [email protected]. 

NEW HMRC GUIDES FOR MPS AND STAFF

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Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have updated their very helpful booklets, explaining how they can help you to help your constituents. The two booklets are:

  • Help for you and your constituents – Working with HM Revenue and Customs: a guide for MPs
  • Tax and National Insurance contributions – Guide for MPs and Ministers (MPs managing their own tax affairs)

If you would like a copy of the updated versions, please email us letting us know which version(s) you require*.

* Please note that we are able to send these documents only to current MPs and their staff with intranet email accounts.  It is not available to members of the public.

Publishing Pictures and Avoiding Rights Issues

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It’s very easy to find pictures on the Internet and copy them to use on your own website. However, in doing so, you could easily be infringing copyright, and the owner might seek compensation.

Paul Clarke has written a useful guide especially for w4mp on publishing pictures and avoiding rights issues, which you can find here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/support-in-your-job/publishing-pictures-and-avoiding-rights-issues/

There’s also some information at the end about what to do if your MP’s office receives a Copyright Infringement Notice.

Financial Year-End Guidance

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It’s that time of year again, when Office Managers/Proxies start their financial year-end process.

If this is your first time doing the year-end submission, don’t panic – it’s really not as scary as it sounds. The staff at IPSA are really helpful and will guide you through it, and they’ve published some useful information here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/year-end-2022-23