Conservative Party Code of Conduct for staff.

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Following reports in the news of ‘concerns over the working culture in Westminster‘, The Conservative Party has issued a basic voluntary Code of Conduct, describing how staff should be treated by MPs and vice versa.

The code has not been officially published but was covered in depth by Channel 4 News after a copy was leaked to them – you can read the report, which includes a link to the text, here.

A letter sent by Sir George Young to Conservative MPs along with the Code makes the point that MPs employ staff directly and that relationship is “something which neither the House nor the Party has any legal locus upon”.

Using Google Alerts

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‘Google Alerts‘ are a simple way to monitor the Internet for subjects in which you have a particular interest. For example, you might like to know whenever your MP’s name appears online, or a certain topic arises in conjunction with their name.

Google Alerts lets you set up a search which will then email you whenever your chosen search terms appear online. You can choose to be emailed as-it-happens, once a day or once a week.

You may need to tweek your search terms at first, particularly if you search on a common name, for example ‘John Smith’, by adding the constituency name, or telling it not to return results containing particular trigger words. So for example, your initial search could be:

“John Smith” parliament

but if there’s an MP called John Smith, say in Australia, you could then amend the search to read

“John Smith” parliament -Australia

and so on.

You can set up as many alerts as you like, and can customise them by choosing in which languages it searches and where in the world you want the results to come from.

Have a look at the Google Alerts page for more information: http://www.google.co.uk/alerts

Need the best research briefings?

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Research briefings (Standard Notes, Research Papers, POST Notes, etc) can be found on the intranet. This is a massive resource and it is constantly updated.

For those without access to the parliamentary intranet, many of these are also available on the public Parliament website here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-papers/.

The advantage of using the intranet link is that it lists the subject specialists in case you need to consult them for further information.

Researcher of the Year Awards – Results

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Congratulations to the winners of the Dods Researcher of the Year Awards.

Good to see a new category this year: ‘Constituency Staff Member Award’. One helpful suggestion from us at W4MP: how about giving equal status and numbers of categories to constituency staff who tend to be the caseworkers?  As Dods admit on their website “There are no rules on how MPs divide their office functions between Westminster and their constituency. This award is open to all caseworkers and staffers in the constituency offices whose work is often overlooked.”  Just a suggestion!

PS 6 April. See Hoby’s take on the 2014 awards here and on the 2013 awards here.

Caseworkers – check out this invaluable resource

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Are you making best use of the many resources on constituency casework on the parliamentary intranet?  

At the Open Day for constituency-based staff at Westminster on 25 March those attending were pleasantly surprised to see just what is available.  Many were a bit miffed to find out what they had been missing. Don’t be one of them.

A crucial link is on Parlinet. This page brings together resources that will help caseworkers with a range of frequently raised topics, including telephone hotlines to Government departments and other agencies.

The Commons Library can provide impartial background information on issues raised by constituents and advise on where else you can find help. They cannot provide legal advice on specific cases.

  • MPs, Freedom of Information and Data Protection
  • Sources of information by subject area
  • Briefings on topical constituency issues
  • Hotlines and contacts for MPs
  • Government websites
  • Government guides
  • How to use the Commons Library

Are you making best use of the parliamentary intranet?

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OK so most of you have good access to the parliamentary intranet and use its resources every day. But……

…….we do know that a good many of you, particularly those based in constituency offices, are not taking full advantage of what’s available.

If you don’t work in parliament – sorry, but the intranet ain’t available to you. Lots of good info and links on the public website though: www.parliament.uk.

Here’s an overall list of what’s covered on the intranet:

Business and News
• Parliamentary Business
• Committees
• News and events
• Understanding Parliament

Research and Libraries
• Research
• Resources
• Training and information skills
• House of Commons Library Services
• House of Lords Library
• Statistics
• Current Awareness Email Alerts

Information Management
• Managing Current Business Information
• Information Security, Data Protection & FoI
• Web and Intranet Service – Online services
• Archives
• Broadcasting

Employment
• Information for House of Commons staff
• Lords staff
• Careers and Development
• Joining & Leaving
• Safety, Health & Wellbeing
• Data Protection & Security

Finances
• Pay
• Allowances
• Pensions
• Procurement
• Financial planning
• Insurance
• HAIS

Computers and Equipment
• Getting Set Up
• Working Flexibly
• Training and Coaching
• Communications Services
• Office 365
• Equipment & Supplies

Access and Buildings
• Access & Security
• Building & Works
• Evacuation & Emergencies
• Offices & Rooms
• Exhibitions & Tours

Parliament’s Education Service

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Teachers, students…this is for you.  We never tire of plugging Parliament’s excellent and comprehensive Education Service.

Their home page is here.  Here’s a taster of some of the links from there:

Introduction to Parliament

Using images, videos and articles, this section looks at the role of Parliament, how it differs from government, key annual events such as the State Opening of Parliament and the budget.

About the work of Parliament

Who’s, who? MPs, Lords and the monarch

Take a closer look at the role of MPs, Members of the House of Lords, and the monarch in the UK’s parliamentary democracy. This section uses a combination of animations, slideshows and articles to bust common myths and examine the work of Parliament’s key players.

Who’s who in Parliament?

How laws are made

Most new laws passed by Parliament result from proposals made by the government. This section looks at the process of making a law and the role played by the House of Commons and House of Lords to scrutinise new legislation.

Making laws

General elections

General elections are central to democracy in the UK. But how do they work? This section looks at the outcome of the last general election, the role of political parties, and what happens on election day.

General elections and referendums

The history of Parliament

The UK has a long tradition of parliamentary democracy. Take a closer look at some key moments, including the Gunpowder Plot and the achievements of early female politicians.

Uncover Parliament’s long history

Current affairs

Parliament debates issues that affect the lives of everyone in the UK, from human rights and civil liberties to international development, devolution in Scotland, and more. This sections covers some major recent topics of debate and new legislation.

Political issues and debates

Happy 25th Birthday, World Wide Web!

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From Pew Research:

On March 12, 1989 (25 years ago), Tim Berners-Lee wrote a paper proposing an “information management” system that became the conceptual and architectural structure for the Web. He eventually released the code for his system—for free—to the world on Christmas Day in 1990. It became a milestone in easing the way for ordinary people to access documents and interact over a network of computer networks called the internet—a system that had been around for years.

More at http://www.pewinternet.org/packages/the-web-at-25/