Open Lectures are a series of free events taking a more in-depth look at Parliament and designed to build on people’s knowledge of how Parliament works.   You can read more about it here.

The first four are:

1. The Day Parliament Burned Down by Dr Caroline Shenton, Parliamentary Archives
   2.30pm, 16 October 2013 at Houses of Parliament, Westminster
2. Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons
   6.30pm, 31 October 2013 at University of Edinburgh
3. Rt Hon Baroness D’Souza, Lord Speaker
   4.30pm, 20 November 2013 at Houses of Parliament, Westminster
4. Public Bill Open Lecture by Various speakers examining the passage of legislation
   6pm, 21 November 2013 at  Queen Mary University of London

These lectures are part of a new package of services tailored for university staff and students but are open to anyone to attend. The lectures are made available by the Houses of Parliament’s Outreach Service, which seeks to spread awareness of the processes and relevance of the institution of Parliament.

Spaces at each Open Lecture are allocated on a first come first serve basis, so booking in advance is essential.

Contact details

If you are interested in attending an Open Lecture, please contact Parliamentary Outreach:
Tel:    020 7219 1650
Email: [email protected]

Full information and links: http://www.parliament.uk/open-lectures.

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 new section called Information Management has been added to the intranet to help Members and staff find useful resources about managing parliamentary information. It’s here.

The new Information Management section contains the following sub-sections:

• Managing Current Business Information – information and guidance on records management in Parliament, including the SPIRE system
• Information Security, Data Protection & FoI – here you will find guidance on Information Security, Data Protection and Freedom of Information
• Web and Intranet Services – information about how to edit the website or intranet, how we develop new features and the policy and strategy documents for Parliament’s online channels
• Archives – read about the Parliamentary Archives, Parliament’s collections of drawings and photographs, collections of books and official publications.
• Broadcasting – where to find archived coverage of debates, information on annunciators, rules on filming in the Palace.

Please send any feedback or questions to the Web and Intranet Service (x2010).

Here are the dates for the three major parties and some others in the period 8 September to 20 October:

• Trades Union Congress – 8 to 11 September, in Bournemouth
• Green Party of England and Wales – 13 to 16 September, in Brighton
• Liberal Democrats – 14 to 18 September, in Glasgow
• UKIP – 20 to 21 September, in London
• Labour– 22 to 25 September, in Brighton
• Conservatives – 29 September to 2 October, in Birmingham
• Plaid Cymru – 11 to 12 October, in Aberystwyth
• Scottish National Party – 17 to 20 October, in Perth

With acknowledgements to Wikipedia.

Hmmm – the BBC reports that:

More than 300,000 attempts were made to access pornographic websites at the Houses of Parliament in the past year, official records suggest. It is unclear whether MPs, peers or other staff are responsible, House of Commons officials said.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23954447.

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/

 

It’s not too late to respond to this invitation below, from the Office of the Chief Executive, to contribute to Commons View….and you might even win a ‘very special mystery prize’. But hurry – deadline is Monday 2 September.

The latest (July) edition – Issue 10 – can be seen here on the intranet.  It’s full of lots of good information.

Here below is what they say.

——————————————–

Commons View, the quarterly e-newsletter for Members’ staff, is giving you the chance to get in touch with colleagues working for Members across the country.

We are hoping that our new feature will encourage sharing of advice and information, help you to pool resources and develop contacts and networks across constituencies.

• Is there anything that you have found particularly useful as part of your role?
• Is there anything you wish you’d been told when you first started that would have made your job easier?
• What has been the most challenging situation you’ve had to deal with in your role?
• Has anything amusing or interesting happened to you whilst employed by a Member?

Get in touch – we’d like to hear your pearls of wisdom, anecdotes, advice or suggestions as well as questions and queries that you may want to ask your network of colleagues across the UK.

Please email your contributions (no more than 350 words please) to [email protected] and we will let you know when your piece will be published.

Outstanding contributions received by 2 September will be rewarded with a very special mystery prize.

Useful page here on the Parliament website listing recalls of Parliament dating back to 1949.

A couple of years ago we wrote a guide on how to make the very best of your application for a job with an MP.  It is still our most popular guide and always worth reading in detail BEFORE you even start to write your application.

Many of the lessons may seem obvious but we reckon that 5 out of every 6 people applying are STILL sending in applications which stand them no chance of a job.

The guide is here.

CONSERVATIVE FOOTBALL TEAMS

Based in Westminster and fancy playing in a Conservative 11-a-side or 5-a-side football team? We are looking for players to take part in football at Regent’s Park or CanaryWharf. We are in definite need of Goalkeepers!  The team has been running for the past three years.

If you are interested please email us and let us know!

Email [email protected].

Updated 19 August 2013

ParliOUT is a Workplace Equality Network in support of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) staff in Parliament. Unlike some minority groups, sexuality is often invisible.

A principal aim of ParliOut is to make LGBT role models more visible and accessible. We also intend the network to provide a welcoming social forum, building a wider informal support network of people from across Parliament.

We organise a variety events from evening socials to guest speaker events as well as providing a free, confidential Advice and Guidance service for all ParliOUT members.

For more information about ParliOUT and to join the ParliOUT mailing list, please email [email protected]