The Commons, Our Parliament, Play your Part

Standard

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 campaign has launched: The Commons, Our Parliament, Play your Part.

Its aim is to help colleagues understand how the House of Commons works and connect us to the wider parliamentary community, including Members and Members staff.

Have you ever wondered…

  • What goes on behind the scenes of the Chamber and select committees?
  • How has the pandemic affected the work of the House of Commons and MPs’ offices?
  • What happens during a constituency surgery?
  • What do the whips really do and how do they work with House staff?
  • How your role fits into all this?

The campaign will have a range of events and content including lunch and learns and conversations on culture, videos on what a week in Parliament looks like, resources on how Committees function and lots more!

See here for further information

Time to get a new job?

Standard

Time to move on?

Maybe you have a spare moment to think about making a move?

But where to find that new job which rewards you – not just financially but also exploits all those talents which are not properly recognised in your present post?

Yes, you’ve guessed it: the w4mpjobs pages! They are here.

We advertise hundreds of jobs, ranging from those dreaded unpaid internships (OK those are not for you) to some really well paid jobs which would be your perfect next landing.  Go on – admit it: you’ve toiled in PCH or out there in the constituency for long enough….

Brilliant as w4mpjobs is, we do acknowledge that there are a few other recruiting agencies out there which just might have your next job as well.   We made a longish list of them in this w4mp guide:
https://w4mp.org/jobs-listings-events/jobs/other-places-to-look-for-jobs/.
When you get there scroll down to ‘Other useful job search websites‘ for the complete list – many of them specialise in politics-related jobs.

Good luck!

Lyell Scholarship 2022 – Society of Conservative Lawyers

Standard

The Society of Conservative Lawyers offers a regular scholarship to reward the recipient for assistance given to the Society in its research activities.

The Society of Conservative Lawyers is offering a scholarship of £5,000 for 2022.

The scholarship will be awarded to a candidate with a real interest in both law and policy, and who wants to engage with topical issues relating to law reform, the constitution and the rule of law.

The successful candidate will support the Society’s research activities. An average commitment of 12 hours a week between 1st February 2022 and 31st July 2022 would be expected.

The deadline for applications is 11.59pm, 1st December 2021.

See the website for details about to apply: https://www.conservativelawyers.com/lyell

Weekly Office Manager Drop-in

Standard

At 11:00 every Wednesday, there is an MPs’ Office Managers’ Drop-in on Microsoft Teams.

During these meetings, you can learn about and discuss various topic, including, but not limited to:

  • House of Commons updates
  • Security information
  • Information about Parliamentary Digital Services
  • Information about IPSA
  • Information and support relating to wellness and wellbeing

You also have the opportunity to put your questions to the Members’ Services Team and to other Office Managers about anything relevant to your work.

If you are an MP’s Office Manager (or if your office does not have one, an appropriate alternative) and have not received an invitation to the regular weekly drop-ins, please email your details to  [email protected] and ask to be added.

The Fortnight – Issue 20

Standard

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/

Issue 20 of The Fortnight is available on the Parliamentary intranet

In this issue:

  • Purchase Added Pension
  • Westminster Hall debates suspended
  • Commonwealth Day 2021
  • Post-Brexit passport validity
  • Windows 10 update: final reminder
  • MS Teams tips
  • Free online talks and tours for your constituents

You can view previous issues of The Fortnight here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual Meeting – Work, stress and wellbeing with Professor Tarani Chandola

Standard

Work, stress and wellbeing – some observations over my research career

Monday 22nd February 2021, 11am – 12pm

The talk will review research on work, stress and wellbeing, highlighting some key findings from studies such as the Whitehall II study on stress and health among civil servants. Professor Chandola will talk about how work stress is measured, who is more likely to get stressed and what can we do to reduce stress at work. There will be an open discussion of what work stress means for participants joining the event, and how the current pandemic context has impacted on the stress levels of participants.

Tarani Chandola: Biography

Tarani is a Professor of Medical Sociology. He is a co-director of the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health and is also the co-director for the SOC-B (Social-Biological) Centre for Doctoral Training funded by the ESRC and BBSRC. Professor Chandola is a member of the ESRC Strategic Advisory Network, fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Statistical Society and is an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sociology.

Professor Chandola joined the University of Manchester in April 2010, is the Head of the Department of Social Statistics and the former Director of the Cathie Marsh Institute (2013-2016). He was formerly at the UCL Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and prior to that completed his PhD and post-doc at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Tarani’s research is primarily on the social determinants of health, focusing on health inequalities and psychosocial factors, and the analysis of longitudinal cohort studies.

To register to join this meeting, please RSVP to [email protected]

Workshops from the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests

Standard

The Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests runs workshops for Members and their staff on the following subjects together with the next available dates.  The workshops will be run remotely via MS Teams.

A. Openness and Registering Members’ Financial Interests, covering:

  • How to help your Member register and declare interests
  • The rules on paid lobbying by MPs
  • How and when to register your own interests

Dates:

  • Thursday 4 February at 10.00
  • Thursday 25 February at 14.00
  • Thursday 18 March at 14.00

 

B. How to Support an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), covering

  • Register entries
  • APPG Secretariats (volunteers, Members’ staff, outside organisations)
  • Members and Officers
  • Meetings (including AGMs, inaugurals and other formal meetings)
  • Transparency and records, including APPG websites
  • Income and expenditure statements

Dates:

  • Thursday 4 February at 14.00
  • Thursday 25 February at 11.00
  • Thursday 18 March at 11.00

Booking required. Please contact [email protected] to book a place.

Looking for a phone number?

Standard

The People App on the Parliamentary network is a very useful tool – an internal directory which will help you to find not only people’s telephone numbers, but also their email addresses and details of their organisation.

So, if you want to contact a member of staff for a particular MP, just put in the MP’s name and it will tell you who works for them, and their contact details.  Unfortunately it doesn’t give their job titles.  You can also search by typing in a department name, e.g. ‘Table Office’ or ‘Vote Office’.

You must be logged into the Parliamentary network to access this directory.

Find the People app here: https://outlook.office.com/people/

Important information for people planning on returning to the Parliamentary estate from Monday 11th January 2021

Standard

Important information for people planning on returning to the Parliamentary estate from Monday 11th January 2021.

The House of Commons will be returning from recess on Monday 11th January.  Only colleagues necessary to the continued functioning of the Estate and parliamentary business, or related support services, should be working on-site, with all others working remotely.  If you’re unsure, please discuss this with your line manager.

If you need to visit the Pass Office, please note that since July 2020 the Derby Gate Pass Office has operated an appointment service, to assist with making the environment COVID secure for everyone and only a very limited drop in service is available at the start of every hour.  Without an appointment we cannot guarantee you will be seen.  Please click here to make an appointment to collect your security pass, if required.

If you are returning to Parliament next week, please check your security pass is still valid.  If you need to renew your pass or security clearance the forms are available here.

Opening Times

Derby Gate Pass Issuing Office are open 8:00 – 18:00 Monday to Thursday and 8:00 – 16:00 on Fridays. The first twenty minutes of every hour allow for a drop in service at Derby Gate, if you have forgotten your security pass.

A drop-in service will be available at the Black Rod’s Garden Pass Issuing Office during the hours of 9:00 – 13:00.  This may be subject to change, depending on the level of demand, and opening times can be checked here, if required.

Drop-in appointments are very limited and are for emergencies only, so please ensure that you book an appointment to avoid delays.

Thank you for your co-operation and support.