ParliaMentors

The Three Faiths Forum are looking for “highly motivated emerging leaders” from one of six selected UK universities who aspire to lead social and political change in the world to participate in their Parliamentors programme.

Five students each from:

• SOAS
• University of Manchester
• University of Birmingham
• University of Nottingham
• Salford University
• Queen Mary University

will be recruited this year.

This social change and  parliamentary leadership programme is designed to equip those who take part with the skills, experience, and networks to further their leadership potential and gain access to the political sphere. The programme offers students the opportunity to be mentored by MPs, create social action projects with support from leading NGOs, and to develop skills and VIP networks through expert-led events.

Participants must be enrolled full-time at one of the selected universities. The scheme runs from September-June so students can take part alongside their university degree.

There are no costs involved, and any travel expenses incurred will be reimbursed.

More details at www.3ff.org.uk/mentoring

The closing date is 30 June 2014, with programmes running from 2 September 2014

Want to find out how people can have a say on proposed laws going through Parliament?

Come to a free Public Bill Seminar in Westminster on Thursday 5 June 2014, 2pm – 4pm focusing on the passage of legislation at the beginning of the Parliamentary session and providing you with information on how people can get involved in the legislative process.

The seminar will cover

• What happens at the beginning of a session
• How MPs and Peers scrutinise and challenge legislation
• How people can submit evidence to Public Bill Committees and engage with MPs and Peers
• How the Government develops legislative proposals to bring before Parliament

Speakers will include senior experts from the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Location

This event will take place in the Emmanuel Centre,  9-23 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 3DW

How to book

To register for this event please click on the link below and complete the registration form:

• Registration form: Public Bill Seminar: Queen’s Speech, 5 June 2014

The organisers tell us that ‘absences will be monitored and may affect future allocation of places’.

• Want to know more about what resources and support services are available to you in those (sometimes far-flung) constituency offices?
• Feeling a bit isolated and/or neglected?
• Just want to get up-to-date with it all?

Yes to any/all of those?  Read on….

Regional constituency training days will be held in Manchester (10 June) and Exeter (8 July).

These events will cover:

• information about the Election arrangements.
• information about the services we offer for you.
• information from IPSA.
• access to PICT and Library training.
• specialist sessions on constituency casework issues in your region.
• and more.

Places are limited so please email constituencystaffopenday@parliament.uk to register your interest, with Manchester or Exeter as the subject. Please note if the event is oversubscribed it may be necessary to limit the number of places per constituency, so please provide names of attendees in order of preference.

Both Houses of Parliament prorogued on Wednesday 14 May, and will meet again for the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 4 June.

For full details see the Parliament.uk website.

Upgrade your computer to Office 2013

Following a successful pilot with Members of the Administration Committee, all Commons Members and their staff will shortly be able to upgrade their computers to Office 2013. This is an upgraded version of your familiar office tools and some new ones. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and OneNote.

The move to Office 2013 is part of a series of steps to give you more mobility and choice in the way you use ICT services. The next step will be to migrate your mailbox to Office 365, making it quicker, easier and more convenient for you to access your Parliamentary information.

Choose when to upgrade

From Thu 08 May, this shortcut  will appear on your PICT-issued computer desktop.

You will be able to choose a convenient time to initiate the installation process, which usually takes between 30 minutes and 1 hour. During this time you will not be able to use your machine.

Help and Support

PICT will send you guidance, including factsheets. Briefing sessions are available on request for Member and Members staff and there is more information on the Parliamentary intranet.

An interactive office energy efficiency workshop will be held on Friday the 16th of May, at the Attlee Suite of Portcullis House, from 12 to 1 pm. It will be open to all staff and members from both houses.

It will involve: