Time: 18:00Date: Monday 9 September 2024Location: Bellamy’s Café BGIPU will be hosting the Annual Charity Quiz on Monday 9th September in Bellamy’s café from 1800. This is open to all members and parliamentary staff, teams are up to 6 people, but individuals can also attend. Entrance is £5pp going to charity, there will be prizes…

All new office managers are strongly advised to book in on an induction session. Time: 13:00 – 16:00Date: Thursday 8 August 2024Location: Online via Teams Time: 13:00 – 16:00Date: Tuesday 20 August 2024Location: Parliament, in person Time: 13:00 – 16:00Date: Thursday 5 September 2024Location: Online via Teams Time: 13:00 – 16:00Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024Location:…

Ref: 2980 Large room available in Walthamstow house, with access to own bathroom. Sharing house with one other female. Available from September to end of December. £1000 per month including bills. Contact c/o karen.lawrinson@parliament.uk

The BBC has reported claims that corporate clients of Health Assured, the provider of the staff Employee Assistance Programme, listened in to confidential helpline calls without the knowledge or permission of callers. You can read the House response to this on ParliNet, with contact details for those who need further advice or guidance.

Do you know anyone aged between 14 and 18 who is interested in the work of Parliament? The Learning and Careers team have partnered with one of the UK’s leading providers for online work experience, Springpod, to run a 3 month on demand virtual work experience programme. The programme is now live until the 6th…

Between June 2023 to June 2024 a cross-party group of civic technologists worked together to create the MP Office Manual. They are all keen to see MPs with well run offices contributing to a flourishing democracy in the UK. You can read it at mpofficemanual.uk The proposals in the manual come from in-depth interviews with…

A fascinating blog post from Democracy Club where they have analysed their data on the 4,515 parliamentary candidates standing for election on July 4. Read the full details on their website, but some highlights include And, crucially, the preferred biscuit of general election candidates is the Digestive, closely followed by Hobnobs. There is a 52/48%…

Time: 10:30 – 11:30Date: Thursday 13 June 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The June 2024 forum will be on the topic of NHS organisations and their inter-relationships. It will be led by Tom Powell from the Library’s Social Policy Section. Please go here to book: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16699

We’ve spotted a useful article on LinkedIn by Laura Dunn, which talks about what MPs or staff who are leaving Parliament should do to tidy up their digital profiles and prepare for what comes next. You can read the whole thing on LinkedIn here but highlights include

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF TIME AND DATE Time: 14:00 – 15:00Date: Wednesday 22 May 2024 The May 2024 forum will be on the topic of Help with childcare costs. It will be led by David Foster and Niamh Foley from the Library’s Social Policy Section. To book, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16684

PolicyMogul is putting on three webinars for parliamentary users: This online webinar is your chance to learn about the value that PolicyMogul provides for MPs, peers, PPCs and parliamentary staff. As well as an overview of the platform’s features, we will highlight some best practices related to getting the most out of the platform. Session…

To what extent are offices leveraging modern tools to do their work? Does technology have a significant effect on what they can get done? And how much does this vary between one office and another? Are you working in an MP’s office? If so, we need your help to understand how technology could be used…

We’ve received a press release from the Antisemitism Policy Trust about their guide on conspiracy theories. You can read the guide on their website. It has been written with expert groups including the Antisemitism Policy Trust, Full Fact, Tell MAMA [The charity working to combat anti-Muslim hate], the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and The Global…

Updated dissolution guidance has been published by both the House of Commons and IPSA. For further information and links, please see our page on dissolution here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/general-elections/dissolution-guidance/

Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have.  To register to attend, please email MST@parliament.uk

The Vote Office’s Publications Enquiries Team has launched a new weekly bulletin summarising all reports and papers published and available in the Vote Office. Paper Trail features links to the week’s bills, government papers, select committee and NAO reports. Paper Trail is available on ParliNET as well as in hard copy from the Vote Office…

If your office receives a ‘copyright infringement notice’, please inform Tara Cullen in the Members’ and Members’ Staff Services Team immediately, and do not respond to the notice until you have discussed it with her. MMSST is aware that there are also some scams going around at the moment, and it’s important to get them checked out.…

All MPs are covered by employers’ liability insurance and a copy of the certificate should be printed and displayed in your office.  The insurance renews on 1 April every year. You can find more information here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/your-office/insurance-for-mps/

A new series of podcasts has been launched, featuring Members’ staff and Teams across the House of Commons discussing different issues that affect Members’ Offices. To find out more, please see here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2184

During the Easter recess, the Official Report (Hansard) is offering Members’ staff an opportunity to learn how parliamentary proceedings are edited in the Official Report Spend an hour and a half with us and find out: We finish with a tour of the Hansard offices and the Press Gallery. We will be holding sessions on…

It’s that time of year, when IPSA Proxies lock themselves in their offices, set their phones to ‘do not disturb’ and bury their heads in spreadsheets. Yes, it’s year end! But don’t worry, IPSA has made things much simpler and, assuming you’ve been reasonably well-organised, sorting out your year-end documentation shouldn’t be too stressful. Don’t…

The WWG has published the results of this year’s annual survey of staff undertaken on behalf of the WWG by Dr Ashley Weinberg from Salford University. You can find the results and the WWG response on the WWG Wellbeing Hub:https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub

The recent announcements about cyber campaigns against the Electoral Commission and MPs from Deputy PM Oliver Dowden have been widely reported, and should concern everyone in Parliament. There is an extensive guide to cyber security on ParliNet, and we suggest reviewing the guidance there and ensuring that your office and personal systems are properly secured.

The new online system for registering MPs’ Interests went live on Tuesday 19 March 2024. In order for staff proxies to use the new service, the Member must first log in and set up the correct permissions for them. To find out more, please see here: https://parlinet.parliament.uk/information-resources/news-newsletters-notices/news/2023/october/new-registration-of-interests-system/ or drop in at one of the information…

Join the Vote Office to learn more about its role in Parliament and develop your understanding of parliamentary business papers, publications and government reports. There are three online sessions covering different aspect of the Vote Office’s work. Each session lasts for thirty minutes. Introduction to the Vote Office: Monday 25 March 2024 at 1-1.30pmVote Office…

Did you know that the Members’ Services Team runs discussion forums on Teams for Caseworkers and those who have a management role in an MP’s office? The Members’ Office Management Forum has a weekly meeting at 11:00 every Wednesday which is full of useful information and gives the opportunity to raise queries with representatives from…

This short online course is designed to give learners an overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  To find out more and enrol, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1344

IPSA has published the salary ranges for 2024-2025 and they can be found here: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits London area: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits#mps-staff-pay-ranges-2024-25-london-area Non-London area: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/pay-and-benefits#mps-staff-pay-ranges-2024-25-non-london-area

Time: 10:30 – 11:30Date: Thursday 21 March 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The March 2024 forum will be on the topic of Local government finance for caseworkers. We will be joined by Mark Sandford from the Library’s Parliament and Constitution Centre and Phil Brien from our Economic Policy and Statistics Section. To book, click here:…

The Education and Engagement Service (EES) will be hosting its next residential UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme 1-3 July 2024. This programme offers a unique three-day course where teachers get to experience the workings of Parliament first-hand before returning to their classrooms to build their students’ understanding and increase their engagement with UK Parliament. The…

The price of Royal Mail postage stamps will rise on 2 April 2024 as follows: You can see the full details of these and other services here: https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2024-03/our-prices-april-2024-v1-ta.pdf

The ICO is hosting a webinar for Members’ staff on Constituency Casework Data and Dissolution on Thursday 7 March from 2pm. There will be an open Q&A session where you can ask any questions on this subject. To attend, please visit this page and then follow the link to register: https://parlinet.parliament.uk/information-resources/news-newsletters-notices/news/2024/february/preparing-casework-for-dissolution/

The Taylor Bennett Foundation is a charity that exists to encourage people from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background to pursue a career in communications. Their award-winning PR Training Programme is a paid, full-time, eight-week training programme in Public Relations (PR) and Communications designed to equip participants from a Black, Asian & minority ethnic…

House of Commons Training Session Course Overview Sessions available on: To book, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2109

All MPs’ staff should have received an email inviting them to complete the Wellness Working Group annual survey on wellbeing. If you haven’t already completed this important survey, w4mp strongly encourages you to do so as soon as possible – the closing date is Friday 19 January 2024. If you are a member of staff…

As we all know, the current set of parliamentary constituencies is being replaced for the next election and the borders of constituencies will change substantially.  And because boundary reviews are carried out by separate organisations for each nation that no-one officially produces a single dataset of all the new constituencies covering the whole UK. However…

Time: 10:30 – 11:30Date: Thursday 18 January 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The January 2024 forum will be on the topic of Boundary changes: how to find data about new constituencies. We will be joined by staff from the Library’s Social and General Statistics Section. To sign up, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16606

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has produced a useful explainer on Artificial Intelligence. It describes key definitions, how AI can be used, how it works, concerns, and perceptions of AI. You can find it here: https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pb-0057/

Please join the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Advocacy Team, who will raise awareness of Disability Services, to support your constituents. The Team will cover the Access to Work (ATW) grant which supports people with a health condition or a disability to get into and retain work.   If you have a question you would…

Time: 10:00 – 16:00Date: 16 January 2024Location: Online via Teams For full details and booking, please visit https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2068

This is a two-day, in-person course. This course is about how to get the best out of social media and will have a particular focus on using video as a powerful way of engage and also explore how to manage negative comments and link you to some Parliamentary resources that can support you. This is a practical…

The Wellness Working Group is excited to once again share with you the now Annual WWG Survey of Staff working for Members of Parliament. You may remember, the Wellness Working Group undertakes this an anonymous survey of MPs staff to better understand the pressures and effects that our jobs have on our wellbeing. We are…

Monday 18 December:2nd Class2nd Class Signed For Wednesday 20 December:1st Class1st Class Signed For Friday 22 December:Special Delivery Guaranteed® You can find more detailed information on the Royal Mail website here: https://www.royalmail.com/christmas/last-posting-dates

There are still some spaces available for next weeks’ ‘Behaviour Code – Why It Matters For All MPs’ Staff’ session at 3pm on 7 December. A further session has also just been arranged for 10am on 19 December. It is essential that all new MPs’ staff attend so if you haven’t already please sign up…

Please note that the email addresses used to contact the Home Office for immigration matters have been changed. Please check the Hotlines List for the new addresses. There is a new document giving an overview of the MP Account Management Services. Please do take a few minutes to read it, as it could save you…

Are you OK? How are you coping? Do you need to talk to someone? An MP’s office can be a busy and stressful environment at the best of times, and over the past few weeks, staff have been under a lot of extra pressure. The work we do can put a strain on our mental…

Do you want to know all about the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement 2023? The House of Commons Library has lots of information which you can find here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/autumn-statement-2023/ Including:

Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox present a weekly podcast about how Parliament works, and talk about current issues and research, and historical events. Find the podcast here: https://podfollow.com/parliamentmatters/view

The House of Commons Library’s interactive dashboard can be used to explore data for parliamentary constituencies, covering topics such as unemployment, house prices and election results. You can see some headline statistics here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-dashboard/ There are more dashboards on other topics which you can look through on this page:https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/data-tools-and-resources/local-data/

Please note that the contact details for the Home Office in relation to immigration matters have now changed. Please see the new hotlines list for details.