Are you a runner? How do you fancy having a go at the Three Bridges Race in your lunchtime?
The monthly Three Bridges Race from Westminster Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge, via Lambeth Bridge (the Three Bridges) has been going for nearly fifty years. It’s 2.3 miles, starting at 12.30pm on a Wednesday (ok, not great for PMQs).
For more information please see https://www.threebridgesrace.uk/
What: Talk Money Week parliamentary-drop in for MPs and staff
When: Tuesday, 5 November, any time between 11am and 1pm
Where: Room R, Portcullis House
Who: Meet representatives from the Money and Pensions Services’ debt advice, pensions, and national partnerships teams
Why attend?
MaPS is an arms length body, sponsored by the DWP, responsible for the delivery of free and impartial financial guidance across the UK. This year’s Talk Money Week theme is Do One Thing, encouraging everyone to take one simple step to improve their financial wellbeing.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP to [email protected].
There are two “How to be a Select Committee Member” events taking place this week. If your Member has recently been elected to a Select Committee, they are strongly encouraged to attend.
Wednesday 23 October 2024, 10am – 10.50am (Macmillan Room, Portcullis House).
Tuesday 29 October 2024, 10 – 10.50am (Macmillan Room, Portcullis House).
The sessions will cover:
Members can register to attend these events, by completing this short online form.
There are also two events for staff coming up: “How to support your Member with select committee work”. These will be really useful if your Member has recently been appointed to a Select Committee.
These 40-minute sessions will cover:
If you would like to order a wreath for Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday, you can do so by contacting the Royal British Legion directly: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/shop/wreaths
They are able to provide a portcullis badge for the centre of the wreath, but you will need to request this at the time you order the wreath, and only ‘Type C’ and ‘Type G’ wreaths can accommodate a central badge. You have to order by telephone if you want the House of Commons badge because it’s not on the website: 0345 845 1945, and make sure you tell them that you want the green House of Commons badge.
You can order wreaths at any time of year but, obviously, they are busiest in October and November, so do try to order in good time. They suggest that orders for Armistice Day should be placed before 24 October.
One question we are asked frequently is where can people download lists of contact details for MPs and Peers.
There is a publicly-available list of MPs and their basic contact details on the UK Parliament website here: https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/freedom-of-information/information-we-already-publish/house-of-commons-publication-scheme/members-and-members-staff/parliamentary-contact-details-for-mps/ This list is updated every three months.
It is also possible to view and download up-to-date comprehensive contact details for MPs and Peers from Dods People, accessible via the House of Commons Library. Please note that this is only available to those who have a parliamentary network account and is not in the free public domain. https://commonslibrary.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=185072
There is an A-Z list of all of the resources available from the House of Commons library here.
Are you going to be supporting a Member serving on a select committee? Or, do you simply want to understand more about how select committees work?
The Select Committee Team is offering training for Members’ staff on ‘how to support your Member with select committee work’. This is a virtual event, which will be held on Microsoft Teams, and is open to all Members’ staff, whether you are based in Westminster or in the constituency.
This 40-minute session will consist of a short presentation from committee staff with the remaining time left for questions. We will cover:
• What are select committees and how do they work?
• How to support a Member who is serving on a select committee?
• Q&A – ask us anything!
There are currently two dates available:
• Wednesday 30 October 2pm to 2.45pm
• Tuesday 5 November 11.30am-12.15pm
Sign-up via Act – Course: How To Support Your Member With Select Committee Work (learningpool.com)
More dates will be added if there is sufficient demand, please use the waitlist function to indicate your interest if you are unable to attend either of the two dates advertised.
This training session will be delivered by Protect, a UK independent whistleblowing charity and legal advice centre.
Members of Parliament are designated in the law as people to whom whistleblowers can disclose information about wrongdoing, risks and malpractice. This training aims to help MPs and their staff who may receive concerns understand their role in the process, the protections available and the risks to whistleblowers who may have taken a big step in speaking up.
Time: 10:00
Date: Wednesday 30 October 2024
Location: Online via Teams
Booking and further information: https://parliament.learningpool.com/enrol/index.php?id=2290
The Benefits Training Company produces a monthly newscast which features three of their benefits experts discussing the latest benefits news stories including changes to legislation, DWP announcements, relevant case law and guidance. There are links to the sources of the items discussed, and some that aren’t discussed if they think they might help.
In this month’s Benefits Newscast, David, Will and Sarah discuss extrapolating from non-PIP activities; Means-testing winter fuel payments; UC managed migration & passporting; UC managed migration current issues & resources; Carer’s allowance & averaging earnings.
You can also access previous newscasts on their website: https://www.benefitstraining.co.uk/benefits-newscast/
MPs often need to use the services of an interpreter or translator when working with constituents whose first language is not English, or maybe require a British Sign Language interpreter. You can find some information on such services here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/your-office/interpreters-and-translation-services/
PolicyMogul is hosting two webinars to introduce parliamentary users to its platform. You can learn more about it, and sign up for the webinars here: https://about.policymogul.com/parliament/
Sessions, including a Q&A will take place on:
You can read a bit more about PolicyMogul here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/researcher-extraordinaire/policymogul-a-free-political-monitoring-and-research-platform/