News

News

Changes to contact arrangements for MP Passport/Visa/Immigration enquiries

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We’ve been told of a change in the  correspondence arrangements for MPs with  Her Majesty’s Passport Office and UK Visas and Immigration.

From 10 April the Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office) Parliamentary Correspondence Unit (PCU) and the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) MP Account Management Team will become a joint function.

This will result in a single point of contact for Members of Parliament to send their enquiries relating to UKVI, HM Passport Office, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force constituent cases.

The MP Hotlines list will be updated, and UK Visas and Immigration have written to individual MPs with more details

w4mp on Twitter @w4mpsite

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After resisting the social media trends for years, we have succumbed and you can now follow w4mp on Twitter – our username is @w4mpsite because ‘w4mp’ is too short, it seems

w4mpsite twitter home page

w4mpsite twitter home page

Knowledgebank: What has growth been like over the last 3,000 years?

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The Bank of England has published a KnowledgeBank guide entitled ‘What has growth been like over the last 3,000 years?’.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

“As an organisation, we are only too aware that economics can be a bit of a minefield, but we hope that through KnowledgeBank, we can start to change this.

“Our bite-size guides explain key economic concepts in a simple and jargon-free way.  We publish new content every month – so please keep your eyes open for our new guides, or sign-up to receive alerts for new content here.

“Quite simply, we want to bring economics to life for everyone, translating sometimes complex theories into simple everyday concepts.

“So far the guides have covered topics ranging from ‘What is the Bank of England doing to support the economy?’ to ‘Will there be another financial crisis?’ and ‘How much gold is kept at the Bank of England?’

“If you’d like to know more, or would like to give some feedback on KnowledgeBank, please feel free to contact us.
Kind Regards,

Parliamentary Affairs Group
Bank of England | Threadneedle Street| London EC2R 8AH |
E-mail: [email protected]“

Westminster Attack

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Following yesterday’s incidents, roads around Parliament Square remain closed, as does Westminster Bridge, as police investigations continue, so be prepared for disrupted travel and added security.

There will be a minute’s silence in Whitehall at 0930.

The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement to the House at 1130.

 

Links between the House of Commons and MPs Staff

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Whether you work in Westminster or the constituency, you will have had contact with different elements of the House service, for example when getting a pass, getting your IT set up, or accessing information online.

Our friend Chris Sear has been asked to act as a contact between the House and staff working for MPs. He has worked in the House for a number of years and recently has been responsible for delivering the constituency regional events, and many of you would have met him at these events.

Chris is particularly keen to hear from you about your experiences of engaging with the House including the services you use – or find you can’t use; how you access House services digitally, and any problems you have faced in engaging with the House. He will use this feedback to identify and deliver improvements in how we work with you.

Finally, if you are willing to be included in face to face conversations or focus groups, please let him know.

Chris can be contacted on [email protected] and looks forward to hearing from you.

 

CommonsVotes app

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The new CommonsVotes app, launched in November, is now the quickest way to find out how MPs have voted in the Chamber. Full division lists are made available on the app around 15-20 minutes after the result is announced.

About the app

CommonsVotes takes advantage of the electronic system for recording divisions on tablet devices, introduced in early 2016, to make the full breakdown of votes – showing which way MPs voted following debates in the Chamber – available quickly in an format easy to use and analyse.

The app sorts the division results by Ayes vs Noes and – within that – by party, and users have the option of bookmarking individual MPs to view their voting record.

CommonsVotes app

Download the app

The CommonsVotes app is available for free download in the Apple iTunes store and the Google Play Store for Android.  The app has now been downloaded more than 7,000 times.

UK Parliament app store

CommonsVotes joins a suite of procedural apps built by PDS, including HousePapers which makes available digitally papers relating to parliamentary business in both the House of Commons and House of Lords, including the Order Paper and copies of bills.

New Health e-Hub App

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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/

The new Health e-Hub app has launched, providing a dedicated resource to support your personal health and wellbeing.

Key support features available from Health e-Hub include:

  • Personal and work life advice and support
  • Physical and emotional health support
  • Medical information and guidance
  • Support videos and webinars on-demand
  • Mini health and wellbeing checks
  • Four week wellbeing challenges.

The Health e-Hub app is available for free download in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

See the full story here.

Get involved with the Speaker’s School Council Awards competition

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By Buyerlerdeqalardim (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Speaker’s School Council Awards has launched to celebrate the achievements of young people.

Run by the Education Service, this fantastic awards scheme invites schools to tell us about a school council or other student-initiated project that has made a difference in their school, local community, or even globally. Get involved by encouraging your local schools to apply!

Schools can enter the competition by registering and completing a short application form on the Speaker’s School Council website.

The closing date for entries is Friday 19 May

To find out more about the scheme, visit the Speaker School Council website  or contact Annie Waddington at [email protected] or on x6260.

Loss of Confidential NHS Correspondence

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Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Jonathan Ashworth, is to ask an Urgent Question in the House of Commons on the loss of confidential NHS correspondence by NHS Shared Business Services.

The issue has been covered extensively in the press- according to The Guardian

Thousands of patients are feared to have been harmed after the NHS lost more than half a million pieces of confidential medical correspondence, including test results and treatment plans.

In one of the biggest losses of sensitive clinical information in the NHS’s 69-year history, more than 500,000 pieces of patient data sent between GPs and hospitals went undelivered over the five years from 2011 to 2016.

The mislaid documents, which range from screening results to blood tests to diagnoses, failed to reach their intended recipients because the company meant to ensure their delivery mistakenly stored them in a warehouse.

The Urgent Question is expected at 3.30pm, following the conclusion of Oral Questions to the Communities and Local Government Department.

Timings are approximate as Parliamentary business is subject to change.

Our new appearance

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We’ve changed the look and feel of the w4mp website to make it work better on mobile devices and also improve some elements of accessiblity.

We hope you like it – but if you have any comments please let us know at [email protected]

w4mpjobs will be updated next month when this design has bedded in a little.