Updated 16 April 2024.
Dissolution is the official term for the end of a Parliament before a general election. When Parliament is dissolved every seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant. MPs immediately revert to being members of the general public and those who wish to become MPs again must stand for election as candidates.
Within Parliament a dedicated General Election Planning Group is leading work to ensure Parliament is fully prepared for a general election to take place by January 2025.
The House has now published its revised dissolution guidance, which aims to help Members and Members’ staff understand the rules in place and the support available to them before, during and after the next election, including what to expect during the dissolution period.
You can find the guidance on the new parliamentary intranet, ParliNet.
There are separate areas for Members who are standing again and those who are not standing and a separate guide for Members’ staff which also includes information relating to boundary changes.
The full guidance is available as a PDF on Sharepoint
The checklists on ParliNet include useful material on each MP’s duties as an employer and how to prepare casework, with particular concern for data protection issues. Many things are time-critical, as staff passes are suspended five days after dissolution.
Handling personal data is a key aspect, and the Guidance for the use of personal data by elected representatives in carrying out constituency casework from the Information Commissioner’s Office will be invaluable.
There is also a page of Frequently Asked Questions on Constituency Casework Data and Dissolution on Parlinet.
There is also a lot of guidance on the IPSA website.
Please note that the guides etc may be updated before the election and so you should refer to ParliNet and not any stored web pages or PDFs for the latest guidance.
You may also find this report of interest: Smoothing the cliff edge: supporting MPs at their point of departure from elected office
Available for MPs’ Offices Only
Guide to Free Legal Services to support constituency casework
The APPG for Access to Justice, which launched last month.
They have been working with a number of law firms to explore the types of legal problems that arise in MPs’ casework and one of the barristers involved, Toby Brown, has put together a comprehensive guidebook of all the law centres and charities across England and Wales which offer legal advice. It covers everything from immigration, domestic abuse, employment, social security, family issues and how to access legal aid.
There are enough hard copies for every MP and it would be an invaluable resource for any constituency office, irrespective of political party.
If you would be interested in obtaining a hard copy please email guide@probonoweek.org.uk and a copy will be sent to you. A PDF version is also available.
Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 20 July 2023
Location: Online via MS Teams
England and Wales focus, signposting organisations in Scotland and NI
With Lorraine Conway from the Library’s Home Affairs Section
To book and view other Caseworker Discussion Q&A sessions, please visit ACT: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=5177
Webinar for parliamentary teams
Date: Wednesday, 8 March 2023
Time: 2.00pm – 2.45pm
Venue: Online
This online webinar is your chance to learn about the value that PolicyMogul provides for parliamentarians and their 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 includes Q&A.
PolicyMogul is the essential online tool used by UK parliamentarians and their teams to stay up to date with the latest political updates and intelligence related to their work and responsibilities.
Platform features include:
- Political monitoring tailored to your interests
- Customisable email updates with relevant political developments
- Access to briefing material
- Question and letter-writing assistant powered by AI
- Analytics dashboard
Join the Library Team for a short session to learn how the Library can support your work. These sessions are ideal for those who have recently started working for a Member or if you simply want a refresher in how to use Library resources.
The resources they cover will help you in your policy, research and casework.
By the end of the session you will be able to:
- Find and use key Library products including briefing papers, casework articles and data dashboards.
- Keep up to date with the latest research and developments through our email alerts
- Know how to use the Library request service
- Access our online services such as Nexis news and Grantfinder
The sessions are delivered over MS Teams by Library colleagues who all have extensive experience of working with Members and their staff.
To book, click here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=81
Note: you must be logged into the Parliamentary intranet to access the course booking system.
- 3 March 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00
- 11 April 2023 – 14:00 – 15:30
- 17 May 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00
- 15 June 2023 – 14:00 – 15:30
- 10 July 2023 – 10:30 – 12:00
The House of Commons Library website contains a wealth of information which is of use not only to Members of Parliament and their staff, but are also accessible by members of the public.
The latest guides to be published are:
You can find more constituency casework guides here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-casework/
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.
ASDIC supports the drop-in centres which in turn support veterans in our communities across the UK. ASDIC Centre leaders are all passionate about the services they offer and, if they can’t help with your problem, they’ll know where to look. You can find the location and opening hours of your nearest drop-in centre here: https://www.asdic.org.uk/member-directory/
For further information please contact membership engagement officer Sacha Moravek by emailing sacha.moravek@asdic.org.uk or by calling 07840 807093.
The House of Commons Library has produced a briefing on help with energy bills for businesses, voluntary sector and public sector organisations.
This briefing provides information on support with energy bills for non-domestic customers, including businesses, public sector organisations and charities. It covers help with rising energy prices, and support to install energy-saving measures and low carbon technologies.
Other sources that answer frequent questions are provided, as well as links to other Library briefings, which cover some of the schemes in more detail. Where complex issues are raised it may be more appropriate to refer constituents to specialist bodies and organisations or to a solicitor if legal advice is sought.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9692/
Migrant Help exists to protect people affected by displacement and exploitation, helping them thrive as individuals and recover from their trauma. They support those most in need and least likely to find support elsewhere, whilst aiming to bridge community gaps and bring services and support together.
You can read more about Migrant Help here: https://www.migranthelpuk.org/
Whilst there is no MP hotline for Migrant Help, they have provided some information on how to help your constituents:
A guide to reporting issues via their website:
https://xz71da.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Migrant-Help-Guide_RaiseIssue_v02b.pdf
Accessing Migrant Help’s Service User Portal and webchat:
https://xz71da.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Migrant-Help-Webchat-and-Portal-guidance.pdf
