How can I become an MSP?

Elect Her is running two “How Can I Become an MSP?” workshops in February.

Times: 12:00 – 13:30 and 19:00 – 20:15
Date: Thursday 5 February

Joi n us, hear current MSP’s explain what it is like to stand, win and be in office and find out more!

Bank of England Briefing Session in Leeds for MPs’ Staff

The Bank of England would like to invite MPs’ staff based in and around Leeds and the surrounding regions to attend a briefing session on the work of the Bank on Monday 10 March from 10.00-12.00.

For those who would like to attend in person, the session will be held at the Bank’s offices on Greek Street in Leeds. However, this will be a hybrid session, so MPs’ staff based around the country are welcome to get in touch and attend online. Depending on demand, we will offer further sessions at our offices around the country, including in Glasgow, Belfast, and Cardiff.

Senior Bank staff will deliver a briefing on the Bank’s three main policy areas – monetary policy, financial stability, and prudential regulation – and an introduction to our Leeds office and plans for expansion. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion of how the Bank’s decisions affect constituents up and down the country. With an interest rate decision on 20 March, this will be an ideal opportunity to ask your questions and learn more about the work of the Bank of England.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] to book a place in person or request a link to attend online.

Please note this session is for MPs’ staff only. However, we hold regular briefing sessions for MPs to keep them up to date on the Bank’s policymaking. The next session for MPs will be held in Portcullis House on 27 March and Members are welcome to get in touch to book a place.

Free summer term school visits

From 23 January schools can apply online for a free school visit to UK Parliament

From 10am on Thursday 23 January, schools in each constituency will be able to request a free school visit to UK Parliament this Summer Term (April to July). Eligible schools visiting from outside London and the South East of England could claim up to 85% (up to £2,400) of their receipted travel costs back with our travel subsidy.

Each term, the Education Centre has a very high number of applications from schools. We try to ensure as many schools as possible can visit us, but with over 33,000 schools across the UK and around 1,000 slots available, demand outweighs capacity. To ensure fair access, we will be processing applications on a first come, first served basis and a queue management system will be in place on the day.

For full details, please see here: ParliNet | Free summer term school visits

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

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

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

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

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

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: Registering Members’ Financial Interests

Join the Parliamentary Registrar for a training session on how to register Members’ financial interests.

Time: 11:30 – 13:00
Date: Tuesday 10 December 2024
Location: In-Person and Online
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2309