All MP’s Staff Q&A: Home Office/ Immigration
Upcoming All MP’s Staff Q&A:Home Office/ Immigration Time: 10:00 – 11:00Date: Tuesday 13 September 2022Venue: Online via TeamsBooking essential: Click this link to book Due to high demand, we are hosting a further event with the Home Office. We are lucky to be joined by Katie Shooter from the Home Office. Katie will provide an update…
Wellbeing – looking after yourself and others
Caseworker Discussion Forum hosted by the Commons Library The Library, in conjunction with the Members’ Services Team, is pleased to invite you to the Casework Discussion Forum which will take place virtually each month. The next session is taking place on Thursday 18 August, 9:30-10:30am and will be on the topic of Wellbeing – looking after yourself and…
Call for 22/23 Balfour Project Fellowships
The Balfour Project intends to appoint fifteen Balfour Project Peace Advocacy Fellows for the academic year 2022-23. If you are a postgraduate or final year undergraduate student with an interest in Israel-Palestine, you are welcome to apply. The selected fellows will be paid a bursary of £700 payable in two tranches at the midpoint and…
What do MPs actually do for you?
Listen to this podcast from PoliticsHome to find out: How Westminster Works: What do MPs actually do for you? https://podfollow.com/1205139782/episode/ca275f254a01662c3ecfedf7aaa79fa70320a185/view “Every year MPs and their staff receive thousands of requests for help from the people they are elected to represent – ranging from everyday problems about bin collections and parking spaces, to highly sensitive pleas…
Upcoming HR Familiarisation Sessions
Learn about skills starting as an Office Manager Office Manager – Getting Started Workshop for Members’ Staff To book, please click this link Thursday 15 September 10-12 pm Course overview This workshop focuses on the elements of an Office Manager’s role that relates to HR best practice. It provides an opportunity to build knowledge and…
Menopause Allies with Over The Bloody Moon
12:30 – 13:30 – Thursday 4 August 2022Online Via Teams Over the Bloody Moon is a leading menopause consultancy who will talk to us about the menopause transition and how you can better support colleagues or a partner. Lesley is here today to help managers feel more confident and equipped to support those negatively impacted by menopause.…
PDS Summer Training Sessions
Date Topic How to sign up Thursday 28 July 2pm Cyber Security Briefing essential to understanding the risks and mitigations around cyber security for us all, both in and out of work Registration form for webinar here Friday 29 July 10am Introduction to Microsoft Teamstips on using Teams as a tool to organise and communicate. Learn about…
Grantfinder Training today – places available
There are still places available on today’s Grantfinder training at 10:30 – 11:30am on MS Teams. If you’d like to attend this morning’s session please contact Catrin Owens by 10:20am and she will make the booking for you. Grantfinder is a database of funding sources including grants, loans and advisory schemes and can help you…
Watch the Doorkeepers Virtual Tour
During the 2022 House Services Fair in July, many staffers were able to go on a Doorkeepers guided tour of the Palace. However, if you didn’t manage to go on one of the tours, you can now view a virtual tour on the intranet, guided by Deputy Principal Doorkeeper Ross Carlin. You must have a…
Accessing Health Records – Commons Library Constituency Casework Briefing
Information for anyone attempting to gain access their own, or somebody else’s, medical records. Accessing health records is now always as simple as putting in a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act 2018. Sometimes, other legislation also comes into play depending upon the circumstances. Read the Commons Library Constituency Casework Briefing to find…
The State Apartments of Speaker’s House tour
During this fully guided tour, you will visit the State Apartments of Speaker’s House, the rarely seen part of the Palace of Westminster where the Speaker conducts official business and resides. You will discover the history and traditions of the role of the Speaker and see the magnificent artworks on display, including a unique set…
Ukraine: Home Office walk-in surgery
There is be a dedicated walk-in surgery for MPs and caseworkers in the Customer Hub in Portcullis House, run by the Home Office. It is open from 10am to 5pm. *please note that the surgery will not operate on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 July 2022*Officials will be available to provide advice on the Ukrainian…
Housing Casework Forum – 21 July 2022
The Library, in conjunction with the Members’ Services Team, is pleased to invite you to the Casework Discussion Forum which will take place virtually each month. The next session is taking place on Thursday 21 July, 2-3pm and will be a Q&A session on the topic of Housing. It will be led by Wendy Wilson…
Myths about MPs’ Business Costs
What do you think about MPs spending public money? A lot has changed since the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009, but IPSA’s research shows that there are still misconceptions around MPs’ staffing and business costs. Here are some facts that might surprise you: Want to know more? See the IPSA website here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/myths-about-mps-business-costs
Casework forum
The Commons Library, in conjunction with the Members’ Services Team, are pleased to announce a new series of talks on research, casework and policy to take place virtually each month. The talks will cover a different topic each session as decided by Members’ staff, and the first event will be taking place Wednesday 22 June,…
Parliamentary Netball Team
A message from Caroline Dinenage MP: Some of you may recall back in the dim, distant past of 2011, I ran a ‘Back to Netball’ course in partnership with England Netball for people working in Parliament. Recently, prompted by a few enquiries from Members and staffers alike, I met with England Netball to discuss rebooting…
Best Practice Guide on Whistleblowing – Guidance for MPs as Employers
Following the recent publication of the Best Practice Guide on Whistleblowing (guidance for MPs as employers). The Members’ HR Team would like to invite you to join them for one of the upcoming familiarisation sessions that will provide information that sets out the way in which employees may raise a whistleblowing concern and how those…
MPs’ business costs aren’t expenses
IPSA has published an informative article explaining that MPs’ business costs are not expenses. You can read it here: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/news/mps-business-costs-arent-expenses
Mailbox Full?
Your mailboxes have a maximum size limit of 80gb. If you go over this, then you will no longer be able to receive incoming messages and the senders will get bounce messages. To prevent this from happening, PDS is asking MPs and their staff to either delete or archive old messages. If you choose to…
Falklands Forty Schools Competition
To mark the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict, students are invited to submit essays or stories, posters, podcasts, or short films. Competition entries are welcomed from students of all backgrounds from across the UK. The winners have the opportunity to visit the Falklands in an all-expenses paid trip. Please see here for full details:…
Recess Dates
The forthcoming recess dates have now been announced and can be found here: https://whatson.parliament.uk/nonsittingperiods/
Professor Chris Williams Helping you – and your constituents Live Life to the Full
Thursday 26th May – 10am – 11am Living life to the Full (LLTTF) is one of the UK’s most popular wellbeing resources, and is widely recommended in health, social care and charity settings. A free access site at www.llttf.com provides online wellbeing skills, and courses to help those living with stress and low mood, long-term physical health problems…
CSSC Sports and Leisure
Have you heard of the Civil Service Sports Council? It’s a fantastic organisation which supports its members with physical, financial and mental wellbeing, as well as providing hundreds of other benefits. Staff of MPs and Peers are eligible to join. See our page here for further information: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/groups-which-staff-can-join/cssc/
Important date of 28 April 2022, for non-recent cases of bullying and harassment
It has been a year since Alison Stanley wrote her 18 month independent review of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), and 28 of her 33 recommendations have now been implemented. This is in large part due to the hard work of the ICGS team. We have created the new ICGS Hub, we are…
State Opening of Parliament
The State Opening of Parliament will take place on Tuesday 10 May 2022.Further details here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/state-opening-of-parliament-may-2022 Click here to find out what happens at the State Opening of Parliament: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/occasions/stateopening/
PolicyMogul
PolicyMogul is rolling out a free political monitoring and research platform to all parliamentarians and staffPolicyMogul is a political monitoring and research platform that helps MPs and their staff stay on top of political developments and avoid missing important information from constituents and others. Many MPs and their staff are actively using the free service.…
Employer’s Liability Insurance
The new Certificate of Employer’s Liability Insurance, which should be displayed in all MPs’ offices, is now available to download from the intranet here: https://intranet.parliament.uk/finances/insurance/mps-insurance/employers-and-public-liability/
Changes to vehicle access to the parliamentary estate
To view information about the changes to vehicle access, including for bicycles, to the parliamentary estate, please see this intranet page: https://bit.ly/3KSMcT0
No need to book IPSA calls in advance
There’s no longer any need to book calls to IPSA in advance, you can just call them directly on 020 7811 6400. Your call will be answered by a member of the team, not necessarily your Account Manager or Payroll Officer, who will try to resolve your issue or will forward to a member of…
Updated: List of Ministerial Responsibilities
The List of Ministerial Responsibilities was updated on 3 March 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities
The price of postage stamps will rise on 4 April 2022
The prices of Royal Mail postage stamps will rise on 4 April 2022 A first-class stamp for a standard letter will rise from 85p to 95p A second-class stamp for a standard letter will rise from 66p to 68p See here for full details: https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/royal-mail-group/first-and-second-class-stamp-prices-2022/ If you intend to stock up on stamps before the…
Independent Expert Panel first annual report
03 March 2022 The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) has published its first annual report. The IEP decides appeals and determines sanctions in complaints against MPs of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct under the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS). It decided six cases last year, upholding complaints against two current and three former MPs. Three were for sexual misconduct and…
IPSA Budgets for 2022-2023
IPSA has confirmed the budgets for MPs’ offices for 2022-2023 and you can read the bulletin here: https://assets.ctfassets.net/s90k6prbkeee/3Qh3dqtF4hBC3WpZ2ADrMi/65f374248b72727a3154424b2a77f5e3/Bulletin__2_March_2022.pdf and the finer details here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/reports-and-budgeting#summary-of-2022-23-budgets You can find an updated monthly and yearly salary calculator here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/reports-and-budgeting#document-downloads
Research Fellowships with Good Things Foundation
Good Things Foundation and Nominet have announced a new research scheme to help end data poverty and reduce the cost of living. The three research fellowships – part of the pioneering Data Poverty Lab – will each provide £12,000 funding to enable people to explore interventions with the aim of designing effective solutions to tackle…
ICO – updated guidance on video surveillance
The Information Commissioner has issued updated guidance on video surveillance. Please click the link below to be take to the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/key-dp-themes/guidance-on-video-surveillance/
Ukraine crisis 2022: Aid and refugees
Commons Library Briefing This new briefing describes the potential effect of the conflict in Ukraine and the possibility of a refugee crisis, alongside what aid the UK and others have pledged in 2022. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9467/
Ukraine Crisis – Commons Library Briefing
The Commons Library has put together a page featuring Commons Library publications relevant to the current crisis in Ukraine. You can view it here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9455/
IRIS Data Protection surgery – Tuesday 1 March
Please see the details here: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-mstinfo/SiteAssets/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2Fhct%2Dmstinfo%2FSiteAssets%2FSitePages%2FBulletins%2Dand%2Dnotices%2F2511518054GDPR%20Surgery%20Flyer%20March%202022%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2Fhct%2Dmstinfo%2FSiteAssets%2FSitePages%2FBulletins%2Dand%2Dnotices
All MP Staff Q&A – Understanding Autism
Tuesday 8 March, 1.30 – 2.30pm Book your place via ACT here For this session we will be joined by Rachel Winder who will discuss her own experiences of Autism and talk about the differences between Autistic and the Predominant Neuro-Type (non-autistic brains). You may find it interesting ahead of the session to read the…
The State Apartments of Speaker’s House tour
You can now book a one-hour, fully-accessible tour of the State Apartments of the Speaker’s House, which includes the Grand Staircase, the Crimson Drawing Room, the State Dining Room, and the State Bedroom. The tour starts and finishes in Westminster Hall which you are welcome to explore afterwards. See here for full details and booking:…
Mindfulness Course for Members
New six-week online mindfulness course for Members starts next Wednesday 23 February, 8.30-9.30am. Sessions will take place every Wednesday 8.30-9.30am for six weeks (from Wednesday 23 February to Wednesday 30 March). The course will be delivered by Awaris, leading mindfulness training provider and sessions will take place online via Zoom. To book your place email…
Best Practice Guide to Grievances
The House of Commons Members’ HR Service has produced a Best Practice Guide to Grievances. This best practice guide aims to enable Members and their HR proxies to respond to and investigate grievances fairly, consistently and effectively. You can find the guide here: https://intranet.parliament.uk/images/intranet/Employment/Best%20Practice%20Guide%20-%20Grievance%20v1.pdf This is one of a series of guides, and you can…
House of Commons Training in the next fortnight
This is the fortnight training information from the Commons Learning and Development Team for you to be able to find the available courses for the following two weeks. We are including some law sessions recently arranged for March. Please click the links to book if you are available to join. W/C 21 February Vicarious Trauma…
Royal Mail Transition to Barcoded Stamps
You may have read in the news that the Royal Mail is bringing in a new style of postage stamp which will feature a barcode. You can read about it here: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps The current style of stamps, which do not feature a barcode, will be phased out gradually, and will cease to be valid on…
Financial Year-End Support from IPSA
It’s that time of year when MPs’ proxies start to gather together all of the information required to finalise their accounts. There’s forms to fill in, accruals and prepayments to check and whilst it’s usually plain sailing, there’s sometimes a few furrowed brows. Never fear, though – IPSA is on hand to help. From 14…
Constituency Office Risk Assessment and Public Access to the Parliamentary Estate
Information about Constituency Office Risk Assessments and Public Access to the Parliamentary Estate have both been added to the Members’ Services Team SharePoint site https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-mstinfo/SitePages/Bulletins-and-notices.aspx
A short introduction to equality law – Commons Library Research Briefing
This new briefing from the Commons Library provides an overview of equality law, summarising the main concepts and the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. You can find the full briefing here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9448/ The Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 consolidates most equality law into one Act. It prohibits conduct and creates…
Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship 2022
Closing date for applications is 27 February 2022. Applications are open for the 2022 Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship scheme. Open to any PhD students in a scientific or quantitative social science field who are undertaking or have recently finished their PhD studies. Please see the POST website for further information: https://post.parliament.uk/nuffield-foundation-post-fellowship-2022/
Time to Talk Day 2022
To mark Time to Talk day this year, we will be running a series of events from Thursday 3 February. Over five days we will hear from colleagues across Parliament, who will share their experience of living with a mental health problem. Join our Time to Talk Day campaign and let’s start talking about mental…
Forthcoming training sessions from the Commons Learning and Development Team
Please find below information on training courses from the Commons Learning and Development Team which will take place in the next two weeks. Please click the links if you are available to join. W/C 31 January (this week) Mental Health awareness on 2 & 3 February (both sessions required to attend): Mental Health Awareness W/C 7…