Commons Library

Library Research Briefings

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The House of Commons Library produces excellent research briefings on topics relating to current affairs and matters of interest to MPs and their staff.

Some of the latest briefings include:

  • Objecting to gambling premises
  • NHS key statistics: England
  • Changes to automatic prisoner release dates in England and Wales
  • Financial markets: Economic indicators
  • e-petition: remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases
  • Inflation international comparisons: Economic indicators
  • Complaining about UK Government departments or public bodies in England
  • Adult social care reform in England
  • Electoral Commission strategy and policy statement
  • Flexible voting pilots
  • Complaining to an ombudsman

You can find all of the briefings here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/type/research-briefing

Casework masterclass – Casework Discussion Forum

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Time: 1400 – 1530
Date: Thursday 24 September 2026
Location: Online via MS Teams

Join us for this extended casework forum session which aims to bring you essential tips, tricks and advice on how to effectively manage casework. With the authors of the Library’s Guide to casework and W4MP’s accompanying Casework guide on hand, we will also have guests from a variety of other useful Parliamentary services available to answer your questions.

This session will give you the change to share your experiences, get advice from fellow caseworkers and learn about other services which might help make the vital work you do a little easier.  

For full details and to reserve your place, please see here

Caseworker Discussion Forum: Housing Ombudsman

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Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Date: Wednesday 19 August 2026
Location: Online via Teams
Booking: book via ACT

We’ll be joined by staff from the Housing Ombudsman and Library subject specialists
Online booking closes 90 minutes before the forum meeting. To request a place after online booking has closed please email LibraryTraining@parliament.uk

Constituency data: Deprivation in England

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The House of Commons Library has created an interactive dashboard shows deprivation data for constituencies and small areas in England and you can find it here: Constituency data: Deprivation in England

The Library briefing paper Deprivation in English constituencies, 2025 provides more information and statistics.

Library talk – Local government reorganisation: Vantage point summer 2026

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Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 9 July 2026
Location: Online via Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=9728

This talk will analyse the decisions made on local government reorganisation in March 2026, and the implications of any developments since. It will then reiterate the timetable for the implementation of the policy. It will also trace the implications for Government decisions on the remainder of two-tier areas in England.

NEW DATE – London and South East Roadshow 

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The London and South East roadshow has been rescheduled for Thursday 10 September 2026.

You are invited to attend the upcoming roadshow event for London and South East offices. The event will be delivered by the Members and Members’ staff Services Team (MMSST) in the House of Commons. We really hope that you will be able to attend.

If you have already signed up, you will not need to re-register for the new date; MMSST will shortly send you a new calendar invitation.

To register to attend please email mmsst@parliament.uk

Library/NAO talk: Unlocking land for housing

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Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 2 July 2026
Location: Online via Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=9857

The government has set a milestone to deliver 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament to July 2029. This will require building more than 300,000 homes per annum on average, a level of housebuilding that was last achieved in the 1960s. The government says a chronic undersupply of land underpins the housing crisis. It believes there is suitable land in England for housebuilding that is not being developed by the market as it is not profitable or attractive enough for developers to build on in its current form. This can be due to factors such as the need for remediation work, a lack of infrastructure such as roads, or pieces of land making up a site being owned by different people or companies.

Join the National Audit Office as they discuss the key findings from their report on Unlocking land for housing. They assess whether MHCLG’s programmes to increase the supply of suitable land for housing development are effectively supporting the government’s ambitions to build the right homes in the right places. 

The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. It supports Parliament in holding government to account and helps improve public services through its audits.

Library/NAO talk: Access to Work scheme

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Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 25 June 2026
Location: Online via Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=9875

Access to Work is a demand-led grant scheme to help people get, or stay in, work if they have a physical or mental health condition or disability. Funding may pay for things like specialist equipment, support workers such as a British Sign Language interpreter, the costs of travelling to work and physical adaptations to the workplace.  The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) typically approves support for individuals for three years, up to a maximum annual total, which was £69,260 in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Join the National Audit Office as they discuss key findings from their report on The Access to Work scheme, which covers:

  • the purpose of the Access to Work scheme
  • take-up of the scheme
  • how DWP is managing the increased take-up of the scheme

The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. It supports Parliament in holding government to account and helps improve public services through its audits.

Library talk: The NATO Summit 2026

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The NATO summit will take place in Ankara on 7 and 8 July. Join Library experts from our International Affairs and Defence team to find out more about the key topics for discussion and what we might expect from the Summit.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 18 June 2026
Location: Online via Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=10108