insurance

Travel information for MPs and their staff

Standard

 

Parliamentary Travel Office

The Parliamentary Travel Office provides a comprehensive travel service including:

  • domestic and international air and rail ticketing
  • hotel booking (both in the UK and abroad)
  • passport, visa and currency services
  • support with organising travel and accommodation for events.

The Travel Office offers specially negotiated discounts on many fares, in particular on air travel, and on the costs of hotels.

The Travel Office is provided by Reed and McKay and they have an excellent online booking system and a mobile app.  Once you have set up your account, you will have to ask Reed and McKay to add you as a delegate so that you can manage bookings on behalf of your Member or other colleagues.

The Reed and McKay site also has a section called ‘Sherpa’ which gives up-to-date visa and travel information.  Simply put in your destination and it will tell you what visas are required and will let you click through to the correct place to apply.

Taxis

Please note that the Parliamentary Travel Office does not offer a taxi booking service.

Overseas Travel

If you or your MP are travelling overseas on Parliamentary business, you can find information about services available to you on the intranet:

Overseas Travel Advice, Guidance and Vaccination Arrangements – St Thomas’ Hospital

Members and staff of both Houses together with their accompanying staff/partner travelling overseas on office business may obtain travel advice, vaccinations and medication from the Occupational Health Service at St Thomas’ Hospital.

For further information and to book an appointment, click here.

For information on travel insurance, please see the intranet page here: Travel insurance

Important – Post-Brexit British Passport Validity

To be eligible to travel to most European countries, on the day of travel, British passport holders must:

  • Have at least 6 months left on their passport, and
  • Have a passport that is less than 10 years old, even if it has 6 months or more left

These rules also apply to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. They do not apply to travel to Ireland.

Please check your passport expiry date before booking any travel and renew it as soon as possible if it does not meet the new criteria. Failure to do so may mean your passport is invalid and you may not be able to travel.

You can check here for the country you’re visiting.

Click here to renew your British passport.

Foreign travel advice

Get country-by-country advice about travelling abroad, including the latest information on coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

 

Insurance for MPs

Standard

The House of Commons funds and administers a range of insurance policies designed to protect MPs when carrying out their Parliamentary and constituency duties.

These policies include:

  • Employers and Public Liability
  • Personal Accident
  • Travel Insurance
  • Professional Indemnity (including defamation)
  • Employment Practices Liability

The employers and public liability insurance is for constituency offices only, and covers people on work experience as well as employees.  The House of Commons, like the Civil Service, acts as its own insurer therefore no certificate or policy is available.  For further information, and to download copies of the insurance policies and certificates, please visit Insurance for Members and Members’ staff.

There is a very comprehensive guide to the insurances on Parlinet.

If a member of the public has an accident at the MP’s constituency office or at an event organised by the MP, please notify [email protected] at the earliest possible opportunity.

Contents Insurance for Constituency Offices

The House of Commons does not provide contents insurance for constituency offices.

Parliamentary IT Equipment

All Parliamentary-supplied IT Equipment is covered by the House and you do not need to include this in your office contents insurance.

Vehicle Insurance

Members and their staff are encouraged to check the provisions in their vehicle insurance.  Many policies cover commuting to only one permanent place of work, and so if you are travelling to different locations, such as advice surgeries or constituency visits, you may need to obtain comprehensive and business cover on your insurance.  The cost of vehicle insurance cannot be claimed from IPSA or the House – it is incorporated into the mileage allowance.