training

Members’ Staff Annual Conference 2025

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The Members and Members’ Staff Services Team (MMSST) invites you to attend the first ever Members’ Staff Annual Conference.

The event will take place on Wednesday 19 March 2025, and will be a hybrid event with spaces available to attend in-person (Portcullis House) and online via Teams.

The conference will spotlight the crucial role that Members’ staff play in supporting constituencies and parliamentary work.

The day will feature a series of workshops led by both internal and external guest speakers, all centred around the theme of housing.

To find out more and to sign up to the event please visit ParliNet: ParliNet | Members’ Staff Annual Conference 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

ElectHer One-to-One Support

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Elect Her wants to give you the personal space and time you need, to ask us anything about your journey to elected office so we can signpost you directly to resources and opportunities that we and our partners have in place.

Do you have questions you’d like to ask about how to get started, what support the political parties have in place, questions about funding or just a general catch up about where you are and where you’d like to be?

These 1:1 appointments are the perfect place to ask! If we can help we will, and if not we can refer you to other organisations! There is a whole host of support out there and sometimes you just need a nudge to access it.

We are available for 20 minute slots throughout Tuesday 18th February.

For further information please see here: https://www.elect-her.org.uk/events-workshops/ask-her-february-2025

How the Library can help you with casework – Caseworker Discussion Forum

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The guest speakers at the February Caseworker Discussion Forum will be from the House of Commons Library, covering FAQ pages, online resources, requesting information and more.

Time: 14:30 – 15:30
Date: Thursday 13 February 2025
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953

Bank of England Briefing Session in Leeds for MPs’ Staff

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The Bank of England would like to invite MPs’ staff based in and around Leeds and the surrounding regions to attend a briefing session on the work of the Bank on Monday 10 March from 10.00-12.00.

For those who would like to attend in person, the session will be held at the Bank’s offices on Greek Street in Leeds.  However, this will be a hybrid session, so MPs’ staff based around the country are welcome to get in touch and attend online. Depending on demand, we will offer further sessions at our offices around the country, including in Glasgow, Belfast, and Cardiff.

Senior Bank staff will deliver a briefing on the Bank’s three main policy areas – monetary policy, financial stability, and prudential regulation – and an introduction to our Leeds office and plans for expansion. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion of how the Bank’s decisions affect constituents up and down the country. With an interest rate decision on 20 March, this will be an ideal opportunity to ask your questions and learn more about the work of the Bank of England.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] to book a place in person or request a link to attend online.

Please note this session is for MPs’ staff only. However, we hold regular briefing sessions for MPs to keep them up to date on the Bank’s policymaking. The next session for MPs will be held in Portcullis House on 27 March and Members are welcome to get in touch to book a place.

Full Fact: January Caseworker Discussion Forum

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The guest speakers at the January Caseworker Discussion Forum will be from Full Fact, the fact checkers and campaigners who find, expose and counter the harm done by bad information.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: Thursday 16 January 2024
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953

Read more about Full Fact here: https://fullfact.org/about/

Training:  Staying safe and secure across Meta technologies

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Meta are hosting a virtual training for MPs and their staffers to showcase the tools they can use to stay safe and secure across Meta technologies next week Friday 6th Dec at 10h00.  As part of this training, they will also cover Meta Support Pros, a dedicated support service to address operational and technical issues as well as address product questions.  

  • Time: 10:00 – 11:00
  • Date:  Friday 6 December 2024
  • Format: Virtual

To book please RSVP to this event link

Behaviour Code Training for MPs’ Staff

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This training is essential for all MPs staff, and it is booked up many weeks in advance.

Please do book on to the first available course here: Course: Behaviour Code – Why it matters for all new Members’ Staff.

The Behaviour Code outlines clear guidelines on how you should be treated, and how you should treat others.

These guidelines apply to everyone who visits and works in Parliament.  

You should:

  • Respect and value everyone – bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct are not tolerated
  • Recognise your power, influence or authority and don’t abuse them
  • Think about how your behaviour affects others and strive to understand their perspective
  • Act professionally towards others
  • Ensure Parliament meets the highest ethical standards of integrity, courtesy and mutual respect
  • Speak up about any unacceptable behaviour you see

Unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with seriously, independently and with effective sanctions.

Refugee Resettlement to the UK: How does it work?

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A training session provided by the House of Commons, aimed at Member’s staff caseworkers.

Time: 15:00 – 16:30
Date: Tuesday 10 December 2024
Location: Online
Booking essential – https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1918

Casework and correspondence to MPs from resettled refugees in constituencies across the UK has grown in recent years as the number of resettled refugees arriving in the UK has increased, as has the number of constituencies hosting them. This increase was primarily a result of the launch of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) that ran from 2014-2021 and resettled over 20,000 refugees across the UK. The first large scale resettlement programme to the UK in decades.

The VPRS’ successor: the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) continues to resettle refugees across the UK, and Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) has also been established.

An understanding of what refugee resettlement is, how it works and the rights refugees arriving will enjoy will be of crucial importance to MP’s offices when responding to correspondence. This training is intended to support caseworkers and parliamentary researchers with significant experience already, as well as those who are new to this policy area.

The training will cover:

  • Introduction to refugee resettlement and the global context
  • Step by step run through of resettlement to the UK
  • UNHCR procedures abroad
  • Resettlement Submission Categories
  • The UK’s resettlement programmes: The UK Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
  • Key differences between resettlement and other pathways for refugees like family reunion.