Today saw the opening of the new 4,000 bed hospital in the ExCel centre in London, the first of the government’s emergency field hospitals built to treat Coronavirus in the City. The hospital was opened in nine days and has so far been fitted with 500 beds.  The death toll increased again today up to…

IPSA is committed to supporting MPs and their staff during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Information and guidance from IPSA can be found here. https://www.theipsa.org.uk/news/coronavirus-guidance/

The death toll in the UK increased once again to 569, setting another record. There have now been 2,921 deaths as a result of Covid-19.  Concerns remain around the government’s lack of testing for NHS staff. However, the government has stood by their commitment to increase testing throughout the population, promising to have 100,000 tests…

As of today we will be posting a short daily summary of the latest Covid-19 news, focusing on the most important stories of the day. Our aim is try and highlight the issues which we think will be most relevant to people working in Parliament. Today saw the largest increase in UK Covid-19 deaths in…

The House of Commons Library has created a page with links to a selection of reports related to COVID-19, including analysis of the Government’s response and policy developments. To view the page, please click here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

The Hotlines List was updated on 31 March 2020. Please always ensure that you are using the current version of the hotlines list on the intranet, as copies saved to your computer or printed out may be out-of-date, and we sometimes get complaints from organisations when people use out-of-date information. Please go here to see the…

Policy in Practice are presenting a free online webinar: Recap of the major benefits changes and Coronavirus (COVID-19) 10:30 – 11:30, Wednesday 8 April 2020 Registration required: http://policyinpractice.co.uk/events/ As new measures to control Coronavirus (COVID-19) are introduced Policy in Practice’s Head of Policy, Zoe Charlesworth, summarises the major changes to the welfare system that have…

There is now a Coronavirus Hub on the parliamentary intranet. It contains everything you need to know about Parliament’s response to coronavirus, including how to work remotely, what services are available and how access has been affected.  It is for Members of  both Houses, staff in the Lords, Commons and PDS and people who work…

The coronavirus: latest advice has been updated on the intranet. Please visit https://intranet.parliament.uk/business-news/news-current-issues/news/2020/february-/coronavirus—situation-in-the-uk/

We have published a guide to working from home, with links to intranet resources and other support You can read it here.