New home for the hotlines list

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We wanted to let you know about the new home for the w4mp hotlines list!

We have worked closely with MST to adapt the hotlines list, following feedback on its storage on SharePoint. This version of the w4mp hotlines list returns to you being able to copy and paste information, as well as being able to find information using CTRL+F, so we hope you find it useful! However, please give us any feedback on how you find it, as we are always looking for ways to improve it!

If you didn’t know, the w4mp hotlines list is a great resource for caseworkers who are looking for contact details for different organisations, government departments, companies etc. when supporting their constituents. It not only has helplines that their constituents can use, but also emails and phone numbers that give MPs’ staff a more direct contact link to these organisations, which can make supporting constituents queries a lot easier. It is regularly updated and this new w4mp hotlines list is essentially a live document, so you know that it will always have the latest known contact details. You can see a list of the latest updates here: https://w4mp.org/hotline-numbers-for-mps-meps-msps-ams-and-their-staff/

If you have any questions or feedback, let us know. Otherwise, we hope you like the new home of the w4mp hotlines list!

Please note that the list is available only to people who have parliamentary network accounts. We are not able to share the list with people who are not on the network.

LWPSN – Online Q&A with the Rt. Hon. Lucy Powell M.P.

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Join the Labour Women’s Parliamentary Staff network in an online Q&A with the Rt. Hon. Lucy Powell M.P. on Tuesday 4 February 2025.

For further information and to learn more about the LWPSN, please see here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/groups-which-staff-can-join/representation/labour-womens-parliamentary-staff-network/lwpsn-whats-on/

Meet the Director drop-in: Customer Experience and Service Delivery

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Time: 11:30 – 14:00
Date: Tuesday 14 January 2025
Location: Portcullis House Hub

Members and Members’ staff are invited to join us for the first session of our new monthly ‘Meet the Director’ drop-ins in the Portcullis House Hub.

Directors from key House Administration teams that provide services to Members will be available to answer your questions, listen to your feedback, or if you just want to learn more about how their teams can support you in carrying out your parliamentary duties.

This first session will take place from 11.30am-2pm and is hosted by Customer Experience & Service Delivery (CE&SD), comprising eight teams delivering services to Members, passholders and the public to keep Parliament clean, safe and operational. You can find out more about the work of the team on ParliNet.

Please see here for further details:

https://parlinet.parliament.uk/events/2025/january/meet-the-director-drop-in-customer-experience-and-service-delivery

MPs’ Staff Survey of Well-being 2024-2025

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The Wellness Working Group is excited to once again share with you the now Annual WWG Survey of Staff working for Members of Parliament

You may remember that the Wellness Working Group undertakes this important anonymous survey of MPs staff to better understand the pressures and effects that our jobs have on our wellbeing. We are delighted that Dr Weinberg from Salford University has agreed to run the survey again for us this year.

The survey is completely anonymous and a chance to be able to help us enact change and to help us all obtain better work places and practices. It should only take about 15 minutes to complete.

Please address any queries you may have to the lead researcher Dr Ashley Weinberg, who is an Occupational Psychologist at the University of Salford: [email protected]

“You are a casework officer in an MP’s office”…

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Interest in and use of AI tools like Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT and Policy Mogul‘s AI Assistant continues to grow, and more and more staff members will have access to these services on their computers, tablets and phones. So far everything you read on w4mp is ‘generated by real people’ but who knows what’s coming next…

The Parliamentary Digital Service now offers a range of resources about for Members of both Houses and their staff. This includes newly created guidance on the use of AI, opportunities to learn more about AI, and information about Microsoft’s AI tool, Copilot.

The guidance, which has been considered by the House of Commons Administration Committee and House of Lords Services Committee, is intended to be a source of advice for those who wish to use AI to do so safely. It will be regularly reviewed and updated as required, so please keep an eye out for updates on ParliNet.

A version of Microsoft’s Copilot is available to all Parliamentary account holders. When you are logged into Copilot (https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat/) with your Parliamentary account, this version applies the same data security as other tools provided for you through Microsoft 365. Please see page 10-11 in the AI Guidance for Members regarding the use of generative AI tools.

Resources and opportunities to learn more about AI are available on the AI resources for Members ParliNet page. PDS is also organising a number of seminars in conjunction with the Libraries of both Houses and you can register your interest by clicking the link within this page.

Read the report (on ParliNet) or pick up a printed copy from the Hub.

Full Fact: January Caseworker Discussion Forum

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The guest speakers at the January Caseworker Discussion Forum will be from Full Fact, the fact checkers and campaigners who find, expose and counter the harm done by bad information.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 16 January 2024
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953

Read more about Full Fact here: https://fullfact.org/about/

Training:  Staying safe and secure across Meta technologies

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Meta are hosting a virtual training for MPs and their staffers to showcase the tools they can use to stay safe and secure across Meta technologies next week Friday 6th Dec at 10h00.  As part of this training, they will also cover Meta Support Pros, a dedicated support service to address operational and technical issues as well as address product questions.  

  • Time: 10:00 – 11:00
  • Date:  Friday 6 December 2024
  • Format: Virtual

To book please RSVP to this event link

Behaviour Code Training for MPs’ Staff

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This training is essential for all MPs staff, and it is booked up many weeks in advance.

Please do book on to the first available course here: Course: Behaviour Code – Why it matters for all new Members’ Staff.

The Behaviour Code outlines clear guidelines on how you should be treated, and how you should treat others.

These guidelines apply to everyone who visits and works in Parliament.  

You should:

  • Respect and value everyone – bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct are not tolerated
  • Recognise your power, influence or authority and don’t abuse them
  • Think about how your behaviour affects others and strive to understand their perspective
  • Act professionally towards others
  • Ensure Parliament meets the highest ethical standards of integrity, courtesy and mutual respect
  • Speak up about any unacceptable behaviour you see

Unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with seriously, independently and with effective sanctions.

Refugee Resettlement to the UK: How does it work?

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A training session provided by the House of Commons, aimed at Member’s staff caseworkers.

Time: 15:00 – 16:30
Date: Tuesday 10 December 2024
Location: Online
Booking essential – https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1918

Casework and correspondence to MPs from resettled refugees in constituencies across the UK has grown in recent years as the number of resettled refugees arriving in the UK has increased, as has the number of constituencies hosting them. This increase was primarily a result of the launch of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) that ran from 2014-2021 and resettled over 20,000 refugees across the UK. The first large scale resettlement programme to the UK in decades.

The VPRS’ successor: the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) continues to resettle refugees across the UK, and Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) has also been established.

An understanding of what refugee resettlement is, how it works and the rights refugees arriving will enjoy will be of crucial importance to MP’s offices when responding to correspondence. This training is intended to support caseworkers and parliamentary researchers with significant experience already, as well as those who are new to this policy area.

The training will cover:

  • Introduction to refugee resettlement and the global context
  • Step by step run through of resettlement to the UK
  • UNHCR procedures abroad
  • Resettlement Submission Categories
  • The UK’s resettlement programmes: The UK Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
  • Key differences between resettlement and other pathways for refugees like family reunion.