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:
Time: 14:30 – 15:30
Date: Thursday 22 February 2024
Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams
The February 2024 forum will be on the topic of Common employment law disputes. We will be joined by Patrick Brione from the Library’s Business and Transport Section.
To book, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16610
Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 18 January 2024
Location: 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
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 like to pre-submit for the DWP please email [email protected]
Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Date: Wednesday 20 December 2023
Location: Online Via Teams
For further information and to register, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=6017
Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Date: 16 January 2024
Location: Online via Teams
For full details and booking, please visit https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2068
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 a lot of time when submitting queries to the Home Office. You can find it here: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-mstinfo/SitePages/Caseworker-Hub.aspx
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.
Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 16 November 2023
Location: Online via MS Teams
With Sally Lipscombe from the Library’s Home Affairs Section and Hannah Cromarty from the Social Policy Section.
To book and view other Caseworker Discussion Q&A sessions, please visit ACT: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=5177
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 [email protected] and a copy will be sent to you. A PDF version is also available.