Training

Understanding and using statistics: the basics for dealing with numerical information – Commons Library talk

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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/

Wednesday 16 Mar 2022, 14:00 – 15:30
Online (MS Teams)

This talk is designed to help you understand, accurately interpret and clearly present statistical information. It includes some practical tips on using and writing about statistics and introduces some important statistical concepts.

Event format

Online presentation by the specialists followed by time for questions.

For further information and booking, please see here.

Housing disrepair – Commons Library talk

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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/

Thursday 10 Mar 2022, 14:30 – 15:30
Online (MS Teams)

This talk will give an overview of tenants’ rights and options when their landlords don’t respond to requests for repairs.

Event format

Online presentation by the specialist followed by time for questions

Presenter

  • Wendy Wilson
    Commons Library subject specialist in housing law and policy

For further information and booking, please see here.

Mental health reform proposals – Commons Library talk

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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/

Wednesday 02 Mar 2022, 15:00 – 16:00
Online (MS Teams)

This talk will provide an overview of the process of reforming the Mental Health Act. It will focus on the main changes proposed to the legal framework and related policy.

Event format

Online presentation by the specialists followed by time for questions

For further information and booking, please see here.

National Audit Office: Transport departmental overview – Commons Library event

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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/

Thursday 24 Feb 2022, 15:00 – 16:00
Online (MS Teams)

This talk by staff from the National Audit Office (NAO) will give an overview of Department for Transport spending in 2020-21, its major areas of activity and performance, and the challenges it’s likely to face in the coming year (based on insights from the NAO’s work).

The NAO is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. It supports Parliament in holding the UK Government to account and aims to help improve public services through its audits.

For further information and booking, please see here

National Audit Office: School funding and financial sustainability of schools in England – Commons Library event

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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/

Thursday 10 Feb 2022, 15:00 – 16:00
Online (MS Teams)

This talk will focus on recent National Audit Office (NAO) publications which examined whether the Department for Education is distributing funding and supporting schools in a way that improves financial sustainability.

The NAO is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. It supports Parliament in holding the UK Government to account and aims to help improve public services through its audits.

For further information and booking, please see here

Oxford University Press demonstration

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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/

Wednesday 09 Feb 2022, 10:30 – 11:30
Online via MS Teams

Book in for a demonstration of two Oxford University Press reference services:
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives you access to biographies of people who have shaped British history and culture and who died in, or before, 2017.

Oxford English Dictionary is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world. As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from dictionaries of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You’ll still find present-day meanings in the OED, but you’ll also find the history of individual words, and of the language—traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

The session will be presented by a trainer from the Oxford University Press.

For further information and booking, please see here.

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

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.

The Vote Office is hosting the following sessions for Members’ staff in the coming months:

  • Introduction to the Vote Office (Monday 21 February, 13:00-13:40)
  • Navigating Parliamentary Papers (Friday 20 May, 10:00-10:40)

To sign up for either or both sessions, please email vote_office@parliament.uk. Full details are below.

Introduction to the Vote Office

Monday 21 February 2022, 13:00 – 13:40

Virtual, MS Teams
Contact: x3631, vote_office@parliament.uk

This virtual session will provide an overview of the Vote Office and the services we offer to support Members’ staff and offices in their work.

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 assist Members’ Staff with research, casework and understanding parliamentary business
  • The Vote Office’s digital services and delivery service for staff working remotely.

The session will last 30 minutes, with an additional 10-minute Q&A.

Navigating Parliamentary Papers

Friday 20 May 2022, 10:00 – 10:40

Virtual, MS Teams
Contact: x3631, vote_office@parliament.uk

This workshop will go into greater detail on a range of parliamentary papers available in the Vote Office, walk through their format, and explain their relevance to Chamber business.

Both Westminster and constituency-based staff are welcome.  The session is suitable for new staff who need an understanding of business papers in their role, or those who would like to enhance their knowledge.

The session includes:

  • A full walkthrough of the Order Paper and the Vote bundle
  • An explanation of Bills, amendment papers and other associated documents that the Vote Office provides
  • Details of other laid papers and publications that are available in the Vote Office.

The session will last 30 minutes, with an additional 10-minute Q&A.

For more information and to sign up to these sessions, please email vote_office@parliament.uk.

Forthcoming HOC Library Talks

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The Commons Library is running a series of weekly talks starting 13th January covering topical issues, constituency casework, and statistics.

Their expert staff will cover:

and more.

There are also talks from the National Audit Office (NAO) on

You can browse and book all upcoming talks and watch previous talks on Act. Any questions please email hclibrary@parliament.uk

New mental health training courses from Learning & Development

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Please note that, when trying to access these courses, if you receive automated messages such as “you don’t have Moodle” or “it is not for learners”, please check, in the first instance that you have valid security clearance by contacting the Security Vetting Team.  If you do have valid security clearance and still receive error messages, please contact the Digital team on x2001.

Distressed Callers (1 day)

https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=3965

Course overview

  • Core skills when supporting emotional service-users.
  • Understanding the use of empathy when communicating on the telephone.
  • Recognising the impact of our approaches when supporting challenging (distressed) callers.
  • Responding to challenging callers and those with differing needs.
  • Looking after ourselves after the call

Approach

The training will experiential to enable attendees to practice skills and build confidence through role play scenarios and the opportunity for supportive feedback and encouragement.

 

Vicarious Trauma (short Webinar sessions)

https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=3968

This is a short introductory webinar on vicarious trauma.

Vicarious trauma is a term for the emotional changes a person can experience when helping people who have traumatic stories to tell.

The session is an initial opportunity to define vicarious trauma and look at why we are at risk, how to identify the signs and how we can minimise the risk in our response.

Vicarious Trauma (1 day)

https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=3969

Regularly hearing about or responding to traumatic events can take its toll on those people who work in helping professions and supportive jobs.

Vicarious trauma is a term for the emotional changes a person can experience when helping people who have traumatic stories to tell.

It may be that you have taken a call, read something or seen images and they stick in your head and you keep thinking about it. Or you often find yourself reflecting, outside of your work, on the upsetting and emotional things that you’ve heard from people contacting your service.

This insightful and practical course provides a more in-depth opportunity to focus on your self care and well being in relation to vicarious trauma.  It will explore how to address and effectively manage vicarious trauma to keep a healthy workplace.