Welcome to Parliament (Members’ Staff Induction)

Welcome to Parliament.

The new joiner induction sessions are available to book via the ACT portal. If you have a new joiner in your office, please share with them.

This session will welcome you to being part of the Parliamentary community and cover essential information from key House services that will help you to settle in and get off to a good start in your new role.

If you have not yet obtained your parliamentary network access and would like to book, please contact [email protected]

Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Date: Monday 7 April 2025
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1341

Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Date: Tuesday 6 May 2025
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1341

Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Date: Thursday 12 June 2025
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1341

Dissolution Guidance – South West briefing for Members’ offices

Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have.

To register to attend, please email [email protected]

Copyright Infringement

If your office receives a ‘copyright infringement notice’, please inform Tara Cullen in the Members’ and Members’ Staff Services Team immediately, and do not respond to the notice until you have discussed it with her.

MMSST is aware that there are also some scams going around at the moment, and it’s important to get them checked out. No genuine organisation will ask for payment in cryptocurrency. All scams and phishing attempts should be reported to PDS.

It’s very easy to find pictures on the Internet and copy them to use on your own website. However, in doing so, you could easily be infringing copyright, and the owner might seek compensation.

Paul Clarke has written a useful guide especially for w4mp on publishing pictures and avoiding rights issues, which you can find here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/support-in-your-job/publishing-pictures-and-avoiding-rights-issues/

Teams Discussion Forums

Did you know that the Members’ Services Team runs discussion forums on Teams for Caseworkers and those who have a management role in an MP’s office?

The Members’ Office Management Forum has a weekly meeting at 11:00 every Wednesday which is full of useful information and gives the opportunity to raise queries with representatives from the Parliamentary Digital Service, the Parliamentary Security Department, the Human Resources team, the House of Commons Library, the Vote Office and more. There are weekly guest speakers, including regular visits from IPSA. It also has a text chat facility for when you have quick questions to ask.

The Caseworker Discussion Forum hosts a monthly All-Staff Q&A which you can sign up for on ACT, and the text chat is always active.

If you would like to be added to either (or both) of these forums, please email [email protected] from your parliamentary network account, stating which MP you work for and your role in the office.

MST East Midlands Roadshows – Nottingham (29 November) and Peterborough (30 November)

The Members’ Services Team (MST) are hosting a twin-centre East Midlands Roadshow this November. The events will take place in Nottingham on Wednesday 29 November, 10am – 4pm (Belgrave Rooms, NG1 5LB) and Peterborough on Thursday 30 November, 10am – 4pm (Weston Homes Stadium, PE2 8AL).

The agenda will focus on preparing for the next general election including guidance around the dissolution period and the impact of the boundary change review. Representatives from IPSA and House services will attend to answer questions and talk about the support they will provide during the general election period.  Refreshments will be provided throughout the day. A finalised agenda for the event will be circulated closer to the time.

To register to attend the upcoming roadshows, please fill in this form, where you can also see the current agenda.

Training for Members’ Staff

The Members’ and Members’ Staff Services Team, along with Teams across the House of Commons, provides a wide range of training, learning and development activities that have been developed to support Members’ staff in their different roles and responsibilities.

To see the dates of courses coming up soon, view the Monthly Training Bulletin. You can also find all the training available to Members’ Staff on ACT.

Note: you must have a parliamentary network account and be connected to the network in order to access the above links.

Caseworker Discussion Q&A: Update from the Members’ Services Team

Time: 14:00
Date: Thursday 17 August 2023
Location: Online via Teams

Update from the Members’ Services Team, including:

Training – Tom Mitchell, Training & Learning Facilitator, will update the group on the Training Ambassador Network, new starter learning pathways, as well as seeking your ideas and feedback for new training courses.
Engagement – Lydia Smith, Engagement Manager, will provide an overview of the engagement programme for the remainder of 2023, including an update on the dissolution roadshow events.
Wellbeing – Tanya Harris, Health and Wellbeing Manager, will provide an update about the Employee Assistance Programme – Health Assured.

It is nearly one year since the Casework Discussion Forum launched. We would like to use this session to gather your feedback about the Forum, suggestions on how it can be improved, and ideas for what topics you would like to see covered in 2024.

Today! Coffee morning with MST

Time: 09:30 – 11:30
Date: Monday 17 April 2023
Location: Attlee Suite, Portcullis House
Registration: Please email [email protected]

Following the success of the coffee morning in February, the Members Services Team is hosting another drop-in coffee morning for Members’ staff. This session will be an opportunity to meet the team and to network with fellow Members’ staff and to find out about the many services the House provides to support you.

Refreshments will be provided.

Members’ Staff Induction

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/

The Members’ Services Team (MST) invites all new Members’ Staff to join us for a 90-minute online Welcome to Parliament induction session on Tuesday 7 February 2023 from 10:00 to 11:30,

To book on to this session, please go to https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=3240

If you do not yet have a network account and cannot access that page, please send an email to [email protected]

Domestic Abuse Awareness

All MP’s Staff Q&A Session

Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Date: Thursday 2 February 2023
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=5505

We are delighted to welcome Natasha Saunders who will be joining us for our February All Staff Q&A Session.

Natasha is a law changer, conversation starter and motivational speaker but it hasn’t always been that way. After 8 years of a wide range of Domestic Abuse, she has become the voice she needed to hear when she was trapped. Domestic Abuse is everyone’s problem and she invites you to hear her lived experience and how you can not only support those around you but possibly save a life too.

If you have any questions about this session please contact [email protected]