training

Bank of England Briefing Session in Glasgow for Scottish MPs’ Staff

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The Bank of England would like to invite the staff of MPs based in Scotland to attend a briefing session on the work of the Bank on Tuesday 27 May from 11.00-13.00 at a venue in the centre of Glasgow.

Senior Bank staff will deliver a briefing on how the work of the Bank of England affects constituents, with an introduction to our work in Scotland from our Scottish Agency. With an interest rate decision on 8 May, this will be an ideal opportunity to learn more about the work of the Bank and ask your constituents’ questions.

If you would like to attend, please email ParliamentaryAffairs@bankofengland.co.uk to book a place in person.

We would be grateful if you could share this with any colleagues based in constituency offices in Glasgow and the surrounding area who may be interested in attending.

Please note this session is for staffers 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 the Bank of England’s London office on 24 April and Members are welcome to get in touch to learn more.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Bank of England. You can learn more about our Agent for Scotland here.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 in Parliament

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Parliament is proud to support Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW), running from 12 – 18 May 2025. MHAW is an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health and share ways to support good mental health for all.  This year, the theme for MHAW set by the Mental Health Foundation is Community.

There is something for everyone this Mental Health Awareness Week, with events and resources open to Members and Members’ staff taking place throughout the week. Join us to celebrate the power and importance of community in supporting mental health this MHAW.

What’s On

  • Attend a special programme of talks, training workshops and networking sessions
  • Visit the MHAW stall in Portcullis House on 13 May
  • Networking events for Members’ staff in-person (13 May) and online (15 May)
  • Explore a collection of on-demand resources including pre-recorded webinars, interactive notice boards, and information about health and wellbeing services available to you.

The programme of events and training courses taking place throughout Mental Health Awareness Week is available to book here on ACT. 

Find out more and stay up to date on Parlinet: ParliNet | Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

Access to cash and banking hubs

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House of Commons Library Talk

Session outline

Cash access, use and acceptance are declining. Recent legislation has tried to address the issues this causes for people reliant on cash. This talk will outline the law in this area and how caseworkers can help constituents with cash access requests.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 24 April 2025
Location: Online
Registration: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=7498

Practical recommendations for supporting staff in a political office

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By Jennifer Lees-Marshment
Professor of Political Management and Marketing at The University of Dundee

Wednesday April 2nd at 2pm

This workshop will present practical recommendations for supporting staff in political offices. These were created by interviewing political advisors who worked for Prime Ministers, Ministers and MPs in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand about what they had found worked best within the realities of politics and government.

Participants will also get the opportunity to reflect on which recommendations they might consider implementing, and to share any additional practices they have found useful.

This will be of interest to existing and prospective staffers and special advisers, and those already support and manage colleagues, teams or offices or aspire to in the future.

Brief author intro
Jennifer Lees-Marshment is Professor of Political Marketing and Management at The University of Dundee and interviewed over 65 advisors who worked for Prime Ministers, Ministers and MPs in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada to identify over 50 best practice recommendations for improving the support and management of political staffers.

To receive the Teams link to this session, please email mpsstaff-wwg@parliament.uk

Casework Discussion Forum: Home Office MP account management team

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Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Date: 8 April 2025
Location: Online via MS Teams

The Casework Discussion Forum takes place each month via MS Teams.

For the April 2025 forum we will be joined by staff from the Home Office MP account management team. The session will provide an overview of the Home Office MPAM team and a chance for the team to hear feedback from caseworkers.

Book your place on Act.

Accredited CPD courses 

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The Members and Members’ Staff Services Team are thrilled to announce the launch of accredited Continuing Professional Development(CPD) courses. CPD refers to any activity that encourages participants to learn new skills, knowledge or expertise that will help them progress in their chosen career. 

Further information is available on ParliNet.

Invitation for MPs: Bank of England Briefing

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The Bank of England wishes to invite Members of Parliament to a briefing in Portcullis House on Thursday 27th March from 9.30-11.00:

How the Work of the Bank of England Affects Your Constituents

The Bank’s wide-ranging work – on interest rates, the safety of the financial system, managing the UK’s high-value payment system, and supplying genuine, difficult-to-counterfeit banknotes, among other areas – directly affects people and businesses up and down the country.

With an interest rate decision on 20th March, this will be an ideal opportunity to ask your questions and learn more about the work of the Bank of England.

Please book a place via the Member Training Learning Portal here or by emailing trainingmpandmpstaff@parliament.uk

The Staff Room

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Have you signed up to receive The House magazine’s bi-weekly e-newsletter, The Staff Room, written by and for MPs’ staff?

It’s got everything you want to know about navigating the job, getting to know the working community, and having a little fun on the side.

It meets the increasing professionalisation needs of its audience; you’ll learn how to support MPs with parliamentary duties, get training and career development tips, manage offices, use parliamentary facilities and much more. 

However, it won’t just be work, work, work: those who sign up will also get invitations to exclusive events in Westminster and guidance on the best places to eat, drink and network around SW1.

Sign up here.

Caseworker Discussion Forum: Police complaints system (England & Wales)

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The topic for March’s forum meeting will be the Police complaints system (England & Wales).

We’ll be joined by William Downs from the Library’s Home Affairs Section for an overview of the police complaints and conduct system, including recent changes to the conduct system, common misunderstandings of police complaints and a Q&A.

Time: 14:30 – 15:30
Date: 12 March 2025
Location: Online
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953