News

News

Royal Mail Transition to Barcoded Stamps

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The Royal Mail has brought in a new style of postage stamp which feature a barcode. You can read about it here: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps

Stamps which do not feature a barcode ceased to be valid on 31 July 2023 and should not be used. If they are used, the recipient will be charged a surcharge.

You can ‘swap out’ your old stamps for new ones and information on how to do this is on the above website. This applies to all ‘definitive stamps’ – the ones which feature only the Queen’s head in profile. This includes standard First and Second Class stamps, Large Letter stamps, and all specific value Definitive stamps (e.g. 1p, 2p, etc). Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don’t need to be swapped out.

The pre-paid envelopes used by MPs’ offices will not be affected and can continue to be used and are not part of the swap out scheme.

Update 9 July 2024: the pre-paid envelopes bearing the head of Queen Elizabeth II are still valid, and there are currently no plans to replace them with the head of His Majesty King Charles III.

Financial Year-End Support from IPSA

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It’s that time of year when MPs’ proxies start to gather together all of the information required to finalise their accounts. There’s forms to fill in, accruals and prepayments to check and whilst it’s usually plain sailing, there’s sometimes a few furrowed brows.

Never fear, though – IPSA is on hand to help.

From 14 February 2022, IPSA will be hosting weekly webinars, drop-in sessions every Tuesday to answer queries and you can also book a call with your IPSA Account Manager for individual support. You can also call IPSA directly on 020 7811 6400 without booking, but your call will be answered by a member of the team, not necessarily your Account Manager or Payroll Officer, who will try to resolve your issue or will forward to a
member of the team.

Even if you think you know what you’re doing, it’s still worth listening to the webinars in case there’s anything you’ve missed.

You can find out more information about these events here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/notices/year-end-support

A short introduction to equality law – Commons Library Research Briefing

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This new briefing from the Commons Library provides an overview of equality law, summarising the main concepts and the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

You can find the full briefing here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9448/

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 consolidates most equality law into one Act. It prohibits conduct and creates duties in relation to ‘protected characteristics’. There are nine protected characteristics, listed in section 4 of the Act, ranging from age through to sexual orientation.

The Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, and harassment and victimisation. It also prohibits discrimination in relation to something arising from a person’s disability, and creates a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.

The Act applies in various scenarios, including at work, in education and in relation to services and public functions.

Public authorities are subject to a Public Sector Equality Duty. The Duty means they must ‘have due regard’ to equality considerations when exercising public functions.

Except for in Northern Ireland, which has its own equality legislation, equality law is largely reserved to the the UK Parliament. The legal concepts in this briefing apply across England, Wales and Scotland.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission was established by the Equality Act 2006, with a duty to promote and encourage understanding of equality and human rights.

Individuals enforce their rights under the Equality Act 2010 before the courts. However, the Commission also has a range of powers at its disposal to enforce equality law at a more institutional level, and often strategically intervenes as a party to litigation if doing so could help develop equality law.

Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship 2022

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Closing date for applications is 27 February 2022.

Applications are open for the 2022 Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship scheme. Open to any PhD students in a scientific or quantitative social science field who are undertaking or have recently finished their PhD studies.

Please see the POST website for further information: https://post.parliament.uk/nuffield-foundation-post-fellowship-2022/

Time to Talk Day 2022

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To mark Time to Talk day this year, we will be running a series of events from Thursday 3 February. Over five days we will hear from colleagues across Parliament, who will share their experience of living with a mental health problem.

Join our Time to Talk Day campaign and let’s start talking about mental health:

  • Thursday 3: Anxiety. Online live session, 10.30-11am
  • Friday 4: Burnout. Blog Post
  • Monday 7: Depression. Online live session, 10.30-11am and Blog Post.
  • Tuesday 8: Bulimia. Online live session,10.30-11am
  • Wednesday 9: Having conversations about mental health. Online live session, 10.30-11am.

To sign-up email [email protected] or visit the H&W Learning Hub.

If you are on the Estate tomorrow (Thursday 3 February 2022), come and visit our Wellbeing Stall in Portcullis House Atrium to find out more about the wellbeing services available

Forthcoming training sessions from the Commons Learning and Development Team

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Please find below information on training courses from the Commons Learning and Development Team which will take place in the next two weeks. Please click the links if you are available to join.

W/C 31 January (this week)

W/C 7 February

W/C 14 February

Changes to fire evacuation procedure

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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/

Changes have been made to the arrangements in place for fire evacuation of the Palace of Westminster.

Please familiarise yourself with the changes, details of which can be found on the Parliamentary intranet.

WWG – Talk from Hope Virgo on Eating Disorders

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Thursday 20th January at 2pm

Hope Virgo is an Author, Founder of #DumpThe Scales Campaign and a multi award winning international leading advocate for people with eating disorders as well as being a recognised media spokesperson, having appeared on various platforms including BBC Newsnight, Victoria Derbyshire, Good Morning Britain, Sky News and BBC News.

For four years, Hope managed to keep her eating disorder hidden, keeping dark secrets from friends and family. But then, on 17th November 2007, Hope’s world changed forever. She was admitted to a mental health hospital. Her skin was yellowing, her heart was failing, she was barely recognizable. Forced to leave her family and friends, the hospital became her home. Over the next year, at her lowest ebb, Hope faced the biggest challenge of her life. She had to find the courage to beat her anorexia.

In today’s session you will hear a harrowing but inspiring story of recovery, get practical advice on how to manage your wellbeing and know how to talk to those around you who may be impacted by eating disorders.  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopevirgo_/?hl=en

To register for this event, please email [email protected]