In his final week, Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service Rob Greig reflects on his time working on digital transformation and the challenges ahead, in this excellent podcast from Ben Woodhams and Robert Brook.
Worth subscribing to the UK Parliament feed on Soundcloud for more.
A new online course from Futurelearn will explain how petitioning the UK Parliament works and explore the possible impacts and outcomes. Discuss what makes a petition successful, understand the role of the Petitions Select Committee and explore case studies of petitions that have achieved change.
It has been developed for Parliament Week.
On 31 August each year, Child Benefit stops for those aged 16+
Child Benefit stops on 31 August on or after a child’s 16th birthday if they leave education or training. It continues if they stay in approved education or training, but the Child Benefit Office must be notified of this. A letter is sent to parents/guardians in a child’s last year at school, prompting them to notify the
Child Benefit Office.
MPs might receive more correspondence on Child Benefit when the letters are received on or shortly after 31 August. Contact the Child Benefit hotline for information to help answer constituents’ questions on Child Benefits.
For further information on this, and other Child Benefit issues, please see the Child Benefit section on Gov.UK
As a regular listener to the Kermode & Mayo film show on BBC Radio 5 Live, w4mp has long been a member of the ‘Church of Wittertainment‘ – see this entry in the comprehensive ‘Witterpedia‘ for more – and enjoyed the witty banter between Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode. We normally listen to the podcast and enjoy the lack of interruptions from sport and news, and the extra conversation at the start and end of the broadcast programme.
The Church is an all-encompassing space, and this week it was augmented with a special space for everyone working for an MP, and the delightfully-named Parliamentary Assistants’ Portico has joined Clergy Corner and Apothecaries’ Atrium.
Tom in Westminster, who wrote in after having seen Dunkirk in Peckham. You can catch his intervention at 39:20 on the podcast, downloadable from the BBC website. And if Tom would like to get in touch, we’d be happy to acknowledge his contribution.
If you’d like to contact the show to let them know you’re in the congregation, then email mayo@bbc.co.uk or follow @wittertainment on Twitter.
Supply of Medical Radioisotopes
This POSTnote highlights the critical role of radioactive isotopes used in medicine, and outlines the challenges for the UK in ensuring their future supply.
You can find other POSTnotes here: http://bit.ly/2xxZSwI
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has recently published the following POSTnote:
Migration is often cited in public debate as a significant factor in the demand for UK housing. This POSTnote provides an overview of available research on migrants and housing. It examines definitions and data sources on migration and its implications. It also outlines the possible impact of migrants on housing, including variation by tenure type, migrant characteristics and region. Finally, it considers the impact of housing on migrants and local communities.
You can find other POSTnotes here: http://bit.ly/2xxZSwI
Democracy Club logo
Democracy Club, the non-profit dedicated to making the UK’s democratic processes work better, is looking for new board members.
It’s a non-profit with an amazing track record of achievement — and they want to appoint board members to help them do more, faster.
Deomocracy Club consists of a tiny full-time team and big group of brilliant volunteers on a vital mission to use open data, design and technology to give every citizen the information and participation opportunities they need, in a way that suits them. They are strictly non-partisan — and they work openly.
You may have used their services to find polling stations, learn about candidates and to engage in the democratic process. You may even have added details of a candidate you are working for.T
They are looking for directors who can provide entrepreneurial experience and leadership to help set Democracy Club’s strategic objectives and help us to ensure that we have the necessary financial and human resources in place to meet those objectives.
Full details can be found on the Democracy Club website and there’s also a Google Doc with more, including how to apply.
When accessing the UKVI information page for MPs, you will get an error message about the site certificate. UKVI are aware of it and are working to rectify it.
In the meantime, the website still works and is accessible, please ignore the security certificate message and choose ‘proceed’ at the bottom of the page to access the site.
The security of UK food supply is a key priority for the Government, particularly in light of the UK’s forthcoming withdrawal from the EU. This note outlines current UK trade in food and animal feed, examines the challenges raised to the security of UK food supply by withdrawal from the EU and analyses the policy options available for improving UK food security.
Read the full POSTnote here: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/POST-PN-0556
Agricultural practices can reduce water quality, degrade soils and cause biodiversity loss. This in turn can disrupt natural processes that support food production. Environmentally sustainable agriculture seeks to reduce environmental damage and restore such processes. This POSTnote summarises associated land management options, agricultural policies and the constraints imposed by a new trading environment.
Read the full POSTnote here: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/POST-PN-0557