advice

Drop-in event: Meet the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

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For MPs and their staff.

Time: 0900-1700 – drop in, no need to book a slot
Date: Tuesday 27 January 2026
Location: Member Hub, Portcullis House

Come along and meet the Ombudsman directly to find out more about the complaints process, meet with PHSO colleagues, including Senior Caseworkers and the Policy and Public Affairs Team and learn how the team can help improve public services for your constituents
 
For more information on meeting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, visit ParliNet. 

NEW HMRC GUIDES FOR MPS AND STAFF

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Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have updated their very helpful booklets, explaining how they can help you to help your constituents. The two booklets are:

  • Help for you and your constituents – Working with HM Revenue and Customs: a guide for MPs
  • Tax and National Insurance contributions – Guide for MPs and Ministers (MPs managing their own tax affairs)

If you would like a copy of the updated versions, please email us letting us know which version(s) you require*.

* Please note that we are able to send these documents only to current MPs and their staff with intranet email accounts.  It is not available to members of the public.

Labour Women’s Parliamentary Staff Network

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Join the Labour Women’s Parliamentary Staff Network (LWPSN) to:

  • Meet and connect with other Labour women staffers by being part of our regular social events, both remotely and in Westminster.
  • Gain advice, tips and support through our Whatsapp group, online resources and regular coffee mornings/zooms.
  • Have the opportunity to take part in free skilling up events and training throughout the year, from public speaking to digital self-care, campaigning bootcamp, and how to have those difficult conversations.
  • Hear from inspirational speakers on the issues that affect us as women working in politics, including Labour MPs, journalists, lawyers, unions and parliamentary experts.

The LWPSN is a great social network for women who work for Labour MPs and Peers, including constituency staff and interns. We are an inclusive network, open to all women.

If you would like to join the LWPSN, join our WhatsApp Group or have any questions, please email us at LWPSN@parliament.uk with your name, who you work for and your number – and someone will be in touch!

What’s on?  See the list of forthcoming events here

Click here to view LWPSN’s Privacy Policy

Check out other groups staff can join here.

New HMRC Guides for MPs and Staff

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Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have updated their very helpful booklets, explaining how they can help you to help your constituents. The two booklets are:

  • HMRC Casework guide for MPs and Staff
  • HMRC guide for MPs managing their own tax affairs

They are available in the following formats:

  • English
  • Welsh
  • Accessible Version – English only

If you would like a copy of the updated versions, please email us letting us know which version(s) you require.

*** Please note that we are only able to send these documents to current MPs and their staff with intranet email accounts.  It is not available to members of the public.

Complaints about an MP

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w4mp is not able to investigate complaints about MPs or the House of Commons. Please do not send complaints or personal information to w4mp, as we will not be able to assist.

There are two organisations which deal with complaints about Members of Parliament:

You may wish to contact the House of Commons Enquiry Service for further advice on how to make a complaint.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards will investigate allegations that an MP has broken the Code of Conduct and the rules associated with it. These include for example rules about: „

The Commissioner will not investigate complaints about:

  • policy matters;
  • an MP’s views or opinions;
  • an MP’s handling of or decision about constituency cases and correspondence at any stage; (A local MP will generally do as much as they can to help a constituent, but (s)he is not obliged to take up every matter that is brought to their attention);
  • the conduct of an MP’s wider public life, unless the MP’s conduct has caused serious damage to the reputation of the House of Commons as a whole or of MPs more generally.

Further information can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/complaints-and-investigations/

Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

http://www.parliamentarycompliance.org.uk/

The post of Compliance Officer for IPSA was established by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

The Compliance Officer’s remit is defined in statute and is to:

  • conduct an investigation if he has reason to believe that an MP may have been paid an amount under the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs (the Scheme) that should not have been allowed; and
  • at the request of an MP, review a determination by IPSA to refuse reimbursement for an expense claim, in whole or in part.

As the Compliance Officer’s role is confined to matters pertaining to the Scheme, he has no power to investigate complaints that pre-date the creation of IPSA in May 2010.  Complaints regarding expense claims prior to May 2010 are usually handled by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch

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Working for an MP is an exciting and rewarding job, but at some point you may face exactly the same difficulties as you would in any other workplace – a dispute over your job description, a grievance against your employer or simply the need to put a collective case for improvements in working conditions.

The Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch represents staff of MPs, both in Parliament and in the constituency, and has many trained shop stewards who will be more than willing to help, however small your problem may seem.  Our members’ well-being in the workplace is of the utmost importance to the branch.

MPs’ staff find themselves in a difficult position in terms of claiming their basic working rights.  Whilst, legally, our MP is usually considered our employer, it is IPSA and the House Authorities who are our de facto employers, setting our pay levels, contractual terms and conditions, and working environment.  Staff pay and employment conditions suffered a significant blow when the IPSA MPs’ Business Costs Scheme was introduced in 2010.  Now, more than ever, it is important for MPs’ staff to speak with one voice on all of these issues, and the union is fighting to improve the terms for MPs’ staff under IPSA.  The more staff who join, the stronger a case they can put for improvements in pay and conditions.

Unite has been representing the staff of Members of Parliament for over 35 years.

The Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch is part of the largest trade union in the UK, Unite and is regularly consulted by the Houses of Parliament authorities on issues affecting staff.  We hope that if you have not already done so, you will join.

Where we fit in…

The Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch is based in Region 1 of the Union (London and the South East) but includes staff from all over England, Scotland and Wales.  It has members who work for MPs and MEPs of all the major political parties and most of the smaller ones.

Follow the Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/unitepsbranch

Campaigning: Petitions

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Presenting a petition to 10 Downing Street in person

Petitioning 10 Downing Street can be a simple and effective way of publicising a cause.

Presenting a petition to 10 Downing Street can provide an excellent photo opportunity and highlight a campaign in a way that could be attractive to your local press. It’s also a relatively simple thing to organise.  Please note, however, that the Prime Minister never meets petitioners – even if they are cute children or war veterans.

Please note petitions cannot be booked in for Tuesday or Wednesday before 2pm. They also require a minimum of ten clear working days’ notice from receipt of your application form to process the petition request.

Petitions may be delivered to 10 or 11 Downing Street on the following days:

Monday: 0900-1700
Tuesday: 1400-1700
Wednesday: 1400-1700
Thursday: 0900-1700
Fridays: 0900-1700
Saturday: 1000-1600
Sunday: 1000-1600

In the first instance, all petition requests go to have to go to the Downing Street Liaison Office.  Petition forms MUST reach the Downing Street Liaison Team office, allowing ten (10) working days, before the intended delivery date. The petition submission date and petition delivery date are not included in the 10 working days. Any name changes to the petition also require ten (10) full working days. Any changes inside the ten (10) days will be refused.

The application form can be found here.

Please complete the form and return it, remembering ten (10) working days to clear petition.
E-mail to: PaDPmailbox-DSLO@met.police.uk
Tel. No: 0203 276 2934 (answer phone) or 0203 276 2933

Please note the following:

No more than six (6) petitioners will be permitted entry to Downing Street. If a petitioner in the group requires the assistance of a carer, the carer will not count towards the six (6), but their details must be provided so the relevant checks can be completed.

No more than six (6) MP’s/Peers are allowed to enter with the petition and full details are required at time of application. This information must come from the lead petitioner/organiser. If MP’s/Peers turn up on the day without police being given prior warning, they will be refused entry. Please see the last page on the form to provide MP’s/Peers details if applicable.

Staff/interns of MP’s/Peers who attend will be refused entry, unless they are a named petitioners on the petition form.

Photographers, cameramen and other press do not have to be included in the six (6) petitioners, if they are in possession of a valid Press Card Authority photo ID – the UK Press Card Authority

No placards, banners, loud hailers or fancy dress or any props will be permitted. (National costume will not be excluded, although prior warning is required)

Please ensure all petitioners bring official photo-identity documentation, ie driving licence, passport or travel pass, when delivering their Petition to Downing Street. Photos / copies of driving licence/passports on mobiles are not accepted.

All petitioners will be subject to a search as a condition of entry into Downing Street.

For security reasons, the Prime Minister’s Office will not accept sealed petitions. Please ensure your  petition is delivered in an unsealed envelope or box.  No10 will no longer accept USB sticks with signatures.

Please include a return address within your petition, to enable Downing Street to send an acknowledgement.

Downing Street will only accept one 2500 sheet box of A4 paper at the door of No10. The remainder should be sent to 9 Howick Place, SW1P 1AA. Please address to No10, including the petition details/date on the outside of the boxes.

The Metropolitan Police will make every effort to facilitate arrangements to enable delivery of the petition; however, matters of State must take precedence.  As a result, alterations to booked arrangements can be made with short notice, in such cases, petitions may be delayed, accepted at the gate, or you may be offered an alternative appointment.

The Metropolitan Police recognise the importance of these events to petitioners and will endeavour to facilitate photography or film recording of the occasion where possible. You will have a maximum of 20 minutes in Downing Street for hand in and photo/media.

On the relevant day and time, attend the front gates of Downing Street and introduce yourself to the Police Officer on duty at the pedestrian gate. The officer will direct you and your party through security search prior to delivery of the petition.

Remember, your constituents have probably come a long way to petition the Prime Minister.  If you can, give them a short tour of the Palace and buy them a drink in the Terrace Cafeteria.  Make them feel they have had a day out!

e-Petitions

Any British Citizen or UK resident can start a petition, and you will need five other people to support the application.  Simply go to https://petition.parliament.uk/ and follow the instructions on that page.  There is an 80 character limit for the title of your petition and you need to be very clear what you are asking the Government to do.  Once you have submitted the title, the next page will ask you to provide further detail on what you want the Government or Parliament to do, and why you want them to do it.  You can find further information on how petitions work here: https://petition.parliament.uk/help#standards

Once your petition is live, you will be able to publicise it and anyone will be able to come to the website and sign it.  They will be asked to give their name and address and an email address that can be verified.  The system is designed to identify duplicate names and addresses, and will not allow someone to sign a petition more than once.  Anyone signing a petition will be sent an email asking them to click a link to confirm that they have signed the petition.  Once they have done this, their name will be added to the petition.

Your petition will show the total number of signatures received.  It will also display the names of signatories, unless they have opted not to be shown.

If a petition receives more than 10,000 signatures, then it will receive a response from the Government.  If it receives more than 100,000 signatures, then it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Downing Street will email the petition organiser and everyone who has signed the petition via the website giving details of the Government’s response.

Ask your MP to present a public petition to Parliament

A public petition is a petition to the House of Commons presented by an MP.  Paper petitions cannot be presented by members of the public.  They must ask clearly for the House of Commons to take some action.  A petition cannot request a grant or charge, but it can ask for a change in policy.

There is detailed guidance on how to do this on the parliament website: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/sign-a-petition/paper-petitions/

One thing that page doesn’t tell you, is that the declaratory paragraph can only be one single sentence.  Many petitions get round this by using semicolons to separate out the different parts.  For example “This petition notes that xxx; further that yyy; and further that zzz“.

The Journal Office deals with paper petitions.  It is advisable to send the draft wording of your petition to the Clerk of Petitions before you start sending it out for signatures, so that they can check that the wording is correct.  The Clerk of Petitions is really helpful and can help you to draft something, but please do bring a draft of your own for them to work on, don’t expect them to write it from scratch for you.  It’s better to do this, than to get lots of signatures and then have the petition rejected because the wording is not ‘orderly’.  The Clerk can also send you a template to work with.

The petition can be presented in one of two ways.  If your MP would like some publicity for the petition, then they can present it on the floor of the House.  Alternatively, a petition can be ‘bagged’ – where it is simply placed in the bag behind the Speaker’s Chair; this method can be useful if the MP doesn’t wish to publicise it.  Please make sure that you let the Clerk know if you intend to bag a petition.

Once a Public Petition has been accepted, it will be printed in Hansard, as will the Government’s response once it has been issued.