The House of Commons Library has produced a research briefing for MPs and their staff to help them to deal with casework involving dissatisfaction with the police including:
You can find it here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9053/
The extremely popular regional roadshows were suspended because of COVID-19. However, worry not, for the Customer Team has taken them online instead.
Rather than full day events, they have been broken down into 90-minute sessions, giving you a chance to learn about the range of services available, to influence future service provision and to share experience and knowledge with other staff working in your Region.
For full details, please go to the intranet page here: https://intranet.parliament.uk/business-news/news-current-issues/events/regional-constituency-events/
The current schedule is:
More dates will be added later.
The House of Commons Library has created a page with links to a selection of reports related to COVID-19, including analysis of the Government’s response and policy developments.
To view the page, please click here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
Douglas Pyper, a Library specialist, will be running an Ask the Expert session – Anti-Social Behaviour, with follow up questions from recent training and any other questions, today between 2pm and 4pm on the Help Hub Community (the new caseworker forum). Doug will answer questions live but you can also post your questions in advance and view responses at any time afterwards.
If you haven’t yet logged on to the Help Hub Community and you can’t find your email invitation please get in contact and we will resend it. Please don’t forward the link to anyone else as it will only work for you, if anyone else wants to join they can get in touch and we will send them a link.
When you click on the link you will need to login in to Office 365 with your parliamentary email and password.
Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.
https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/
New online resource provided by the House of Commons Library
The Armed Conflict Database provides in-depth data, timelines and reports on conflicts worldwide.
The ACD enables the user to assess the effects of armed conflict on a region or a country. Users can view historic trends and patterns in conflicts and read regular reports on new conflict trends.
The database holds annual figures for global conflict trends, as well as multi-year statistics on fatalities, refugees and IDPs.
The House of Commons subscribes to a range of commercial websites and databases, which are made available via the Parliamentary Intranet to all Parliamentary Network users.
Examples include news monitoring resources; case law and statute databases, biographical reference; and journals and periodicals;
These services are listed on the library services page on the intranet.
If you wish to add any of these services to your Favourites please bookmark the intermediate access page, rather than the service itself, as passwords / access arrangements may change from time to time.
Some services only allow a limited number of users at one time. This is determined by the terms of the Library’s subscriptions to different services. If you get an error message that the maximum number of users has been exceeded please try again later.
Please note that the Library does not have any control over the content, search software or frequency of updating of information. The Library reviews usage of its online services; from time to time a subscription may be discontinued and new services may be added to the intranet.
The Library Book Loans Service provides loans of books and an inter-library loans service for material not held in the Library.
The service is available to Members and House staff, in connection with their Parliamentary duties. Named Members’ staff can request and collect items on behalf of their Member.
Items can be collected from the Members’ Library, or in exceptional circumstances, posted to the borrower. Special arrangements exist for constituency staff.
The Library Loans Service is based in the Members’ Library in the Palace of Westminster. Contact 020 7219 1515 or hclibrary@parliament.uk.
For more detailed information, see the Commons Library Book Loan intranet page
The House of Commons Library is a research and information service based in UK Parliament.
We provide politically impartial research, analysis, statistics and information resources. Our work helps MPs scrutinise legislation, prepare for debates, develop policies and support their constituents.
Our publications are available to everyone at commonslibrary.parliament.uk
The easiest way to learn about the Commons Library is to book or arrange a ‘Make the most of the Library’ session.
In this one-hour course, you will:
The Commons Library provides a range of services for MPs and their staff, including impartial research and access to resources and training.
Publications: Our publications offer politically impartial analysis and statistics. We cover legislation, topical issues, policy and constituency issues. Our briefings and data tools are written by our expert staff and are available online. Read about the different types of research: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/the-library/research-briefings-standard-notes-and-debate-packs/
Confidential Request Service: We answer MPs’ questions and requests for bespoke briefings. These tailored and timely responses help MPs fulfil their parliamentary duties and represent their constituents. Our confidential service includes fact-checking, policy development and analysis, and help to answer constituents’ questions.
Information Resources: MPs, their staff and parliamentary staff can access our curated collection of books, journals, databases, news subscriptions and parliamentary material.
Training and events: We offer training, support and talks on topical issues from our subject specialists. Our training and events help MPs, their staff and parliamentary staff get the most from the Library.
Workspace: Members’ Library is a quiet workspace for MPs, and a place to access our books and newspapers, make research requests and pick up printed copies of our publications. MPs’ staff can go into the Members’ Library to submit a research request or take out books on loan.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/resources/
The Commons Library provides books, journals and online resources for MPs, MPs’ staff and parliamentary staff. On this page you can:
The Commons Library arranges inductions, training and events for MPs, MPs’ staff and parliamentary staff to help you get the best out of the Library:
Make the most of the Library sessions: The easiest way to learn about Library services is to sign up for one of our Introduction to the Library sessions. The course provides you with the tools to:
Events and guest speakers: House of Commons Library subject specialists give occasional talks on topics of interest to Members and their staff and other @parliament.uk users. They also invite guest speakers from organisations such as the National Audit Office.
Regular training courses: The Library provides regular training courses on parliamentary search, Nexis News, books, journals and more.
Guidance and training on resources and guidance: The Library has prepared guides to the range of online resources and databases available to Parliament, such as news subscriptions, NewsBank, Grantfinder and more. The guides cover:
The Commons Library catalogue contains records of the Library’s collection of hard copy and electronic books, pamphlets, reports, official publications, periodicals (journals), corporate subscriptions and online reference sources. Each record gives details of author, title, publisher, publication date and Library location.
It also provides an inter-library loans service for items not held by the Library (including periodical articles).
You can reserve a book or other stored material using the online catalogue. You can also view the status of your loans, reserve items, and request the loan of an item that you cannot find on the catalogue.
Explore the Commons Library’s extensive collection of online and hardcopy materials: https://commonslibrary.koha-ptfs.co.uk/.
You can contact our team of subject specialists for help with research or information about any area relevant to you.
Whether you’re reviewing or developing policy, preparing for a speech or media appearance, helping a constituent or trying to understand an issue affecting your local area, Library staff can answer your questions in confidence.
It’s helpful to the Library staff to know exactly what you need and when. For example, you may be looking for statistics about your constituency, analysis of government policy, an overview of the law in a particular area or information on the support individuals can expect from public sector organisations. Sharing relevant correspondence or documents will help them understand your request and how we can help.
It may be that the information you’re looking for is already published on the Library’s website. Before submitting a request for information and research from the Library’s team of subject specialists, please do look at the material already published on the Library website: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Specialist research can also be requested: see ParliNet for details.
Our Subject Specialist Directory provides contact details of specialists in each section and includes information on how to submit a request:
Get the latest Commons Library research and curated newsletters delivered to your inbox. This includes:
Sign up to the subscriptions in the link above.
Follow the Library on X: @CommonsLibrary
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research/
The Commons Library provides an impartial research and information service for MPs and their staff. It publishes politically-impartial policy analysis and statistical research, free for all to read. Explore quick-read articles, in-depth research, and interactive data visualisations.
The Library also provides research of the weekly business of the House of Commons: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/this-week/.
Research briefings: In-depth analysis of bills, legislation, policy and topical issues. Read quick summaries online and download the corresponding PDF documents to access the full analysis.
Insights: Quick-read articles on current issues. These are published in line with topical events and provide need-to-know information on local and global topics.
Debate Packs: Research that is produced in relation to debates taking place in the Commons Chamber and Westminster Hall. They contain background information, parliamentary and press material, and suggested further reading.
Data tools and resources: Browse datasets and interactive dashboard on a range of topics. View our Constituency Dashboard for headline statistics about your constituency, explore parliamentary and elections data, and get the latest data on the economy.
Constituency casework articles: FAQs and quick explainers to help caseworkers with a range of constituent queries.
The Commons Library research can be viewed by topic and sub-topic. The links to these listings can be saved as bookmarks so you can go straight to the subjects you are interested in.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is a bicameral body within Parliament which produces impartial, timely and peer-reviewed research, on topics such as biology, health, energy, environment and physical and social sciences.
Find out more about POST: https://post.parliament.uk/about-us/.
POSTNotes: Four-page research briefings reviewing emerging areas of research.
POSTBriefs: Dynamic and strategic syntheses, produced rapidly in response to current affairs or the work of select committees.
Rapid responses: Rapid response content published within weeks of important research developments, produced to brief parliamentarians.
As well as writing speeches or looking for facts to use in the Chamber, you may need to support your MP when they are asked to speak on a panel or to be a main speaker at a roundtable discussion. The former will normally be arranged by a large organisation, perhaps a professional association. It will probably be similar to Question Time, except that the questions normally last longer. The latter is a common staple of Party Conference season, or may be arranged by a think tank keen on expanding on a particular issue.
What type of brief are you aiming for?
A speech-style briefing has a beginning, a middle and an end. This briefing needs to be broad, and not nearly as deep. You will need to work out:
You will probably need two or three ideas for your MP, ten or more questions you think are likely to be asked by the audience, and a couple of ideas for each of the other speakers at the event.
What is your MP going to say?
Your MP has probably been asked to do this because of past experience and some knowledge of the subject area. You will need to have two or even three areas to concentrate on. For each of these you should have:
Your MP will probably appreciate a bit more information on ten or so points which might come up. For each of these points you should have:
What are others at the event likely to say?
Regardless of whether this is a large roundtable or a panel discussion, your MP will face questions. You can’t rely on these being follow-up questions to what you have briefed on, so it is important to second guess what might also be discussed.
Final advice…
Your MP would find a quick sheet of bullet points useful – but staple copies of the articles, reports and various press releases to the back. This is especially useful if your MP has a train journey before the event.
Concentrate on subjects your MP is familiar with. It is probably best to check with your MP that you are heading in the right direction.
Ask other MPs, particularly front benchers, for advice. The same goes for academic institutions, think tanks and pressure groups. Use Nexis News, accessed via the Commons Library intranet site, to look for comments by members of the press – but ensure your MP agrees with what is said.
JM/May 2007