News

News

The Fortnight – Issue 20

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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/

Issue 20 of The Fortnight is available on the Parliamentary intranet

In this issue:

  • Purchase Added Pension
  • Westminster Hall debates suspended
  • Commonwealth Day 2021
  • Post-Brexit passport validity
  • Windows 10 update: final reminder
  • MS Teams tips
  • Free online talks and tours for your constituents

You can view previous issues of The Fortnight here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual Meeting – Work, stress and wellbeing with Professor Tarani Chandola

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Work, stress and wellbeing – some observations over my research career

Monday 22nd February 2021, 11am – 12pm

The talk will review research on work, stress and wellbeing, highlighting some key findings from studies such as the Whitehall II study on stress and health among civil servants. Professor Chandola will talk about how work stress is measured, who is more likely to get stressed and what can we do to reduce stress at work. There will be an open discussion of what work stress means for participants joining the event, and how the current pandemic context has impacted on the stress levels of participants.

Tarani Chandola: Biography

Tarani is a Professor of Medical Sociology. He is a co-director of the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health and is also the co-director for the SOC-B (Social-Biological) Centre for Doctoral Training funded by the ESRC and BBSRC. Professor Chandola is a member of the ESRC Strategic Advisory Network, fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Statistical Society and is an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sociology.

Professor Chandola joined the University of Manchester in April 2010, is the Head of the Department of Social Statistics and the former Director of the Cathie Marsh Institute (2013-2016). He was formerly at the UCL Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and prior to that completed his PhD and post-doc at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Tarani’s research is primarily on the social determinants of health, focusing on health inequalities and psychosocial factors, and the analysis of longitudinal cohort studies.

To register to join this meeting, please RSVP to [email protected]

Workshops from the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests

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The Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests runs workshops for Members and their staff on the following subjects together with the next available dates.  The workshops will be run remotely via MS Teams.

A. Openness and Registering Members’ Financial Interests, covering:

  • How to help your Member register and declare interests
  • The rules on paid lobbying by MPs
  • How and when to register your own interests

Dates:

  • Thursday 4 February at 10.00
  • Thursday 25 February at 14.00
  • Thursday 18 March at 14.00

 

B. How to Support an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), covering

  • Register entries
  • APPG Secretariats (volunteers, Members’ staff, outside organisations)
  • Members and Officers
  • Meetings (including AGMs, inaugurals and other formal meetings)
  • Transparency and records, including APPG websites
  • Income and expenditure statements

Dates:

  • Thursday 4 February at 14.00
  • Thursday 25 February at 11.00
  • Thursday 18 March at 11.00

Booking required. Please contact [email protected] to book a place.

Looking for a phone number?

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The People App on the Parliamentary network is a very useful tool – an internal directory which will help you to find not only people’s telephone numbers, but also their email addresses and details of their organisation.

So, if you want to contact a member of staff for a particular MP, just put in the MP’s name and it will tell you who works for them, and their contact details.  Unfortunately it doesn’t give their job titles.  You can also search by typing in a department name, e.g. ‘Table Office’ or ‘Vote Office’.

You must be logged into the Parliamentary network to access this directory.

Find the People app here: https://outlook.office.com/people/

Important information for people planning on returning to the Parliamentary estate from Monday 11th January 2021

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Important information for people planning on returning to the Parliamentary estate from Monday 11th January 2021.

The House of Commons will be returning from recess on Monday 11th January.  Only colleagues necessary to the continued functioning of the Estate and parliamentary business, or related support services, should be working on-site, with all others working remotely.  If you’re unsure, please discuss this with your line manager.

If you need to visit the Pass Office, please note that since July 2020 the Derby Gate Pass Office has operated an appointment service, to assist with making the environment COVID secure for everyone and only a very limited drop in service is available at the start of every hour.  Without an appointment we cannot guarantee you will be seen.  Please click here to make an appointment to collect your security pass, if required.

If you are returning to Parliament next week, please check your security pass is still valid.  If you need to renew your pass or security clearance the forms are available here.

Opening Times

Derby Gate Pass Issuing Office are open 8:00 – 18:00 Monday to Thursday and 8:00 – 16:00 on Fridays. The first twenty minutes of every hour allow for a drop in service at Derby Gate, if you have forgotten your security pass.

A drop-in service will be available at the Black Rod’s Garden Pass Issuing Office during the hours of 9:00 – 13:00.  This may be subject to change, depending on the level of demand, and opening times can be checked here, if required.

Drop-in appointments are very limited and are for emergencies only, so please ensure that you book an appointment to avoid delays.

Thank you for your co-operation and support.

What is the Privy Council?

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What is the Privy Council?

The Privy Council is an advisory body to the Monarch; its members are known as Privy Counsellors. It is one of the oldest parts of the UK’s constitutional arrangements, with its origins dating back to at least the thirteenth century.

Find out more in this Commons Library Research Briefing which looks at the role and powers of the Privy Council: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7460/

Disability History Month illustrated book

a painting of performer and artist Deborah Williams
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One of the most interesting publications of last year was produced by the Learning team in Parliament. It is a booklet for use in schools that contains stories of influential people who have impacted disability related UK laws and equal rights. Launched to mark Disability History Month 2020, this resource can be used throughout the academic year to embed the stories across the curriculum.

You can find out more on the Learning website (this is a link to the relevant page) or download the booklet as a PDF from this link in English or this link in Welsh

The image shows Deborah Williams. When Deborah, a performer and artist, established her own company to tell her stories, she became such a success that she was invited into Parliament to share her experience and skills with a select committee.

Post-Brexit British passport validity

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From 1 January 2021, passport guidelines are changing.

To be eligible to travel to most European countries, on the day of travel, British passport holders must:

  • Have at least 6 months left on their passport, and
  • Have a passport that is less than 10 years old, even if it has 6 months or more left

These rules also apply to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.  They do not apply to travel to Ireland.

Please check your passport expiry date before booking any travel and renew it as soon as possible if it does not meet the new criteria. Failure to do so may mean your passport is invalid and you may not be able to travel.

You can check here for the country you’re visiting.

Click here to renew your British passport

 

 

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