Guides

Here you will find guides, documents and other useful material.  We are continuing to stock our library and we welcome suggestions for new material. Some guides are written by us or other staff working for MPs and some originate from various House Departments or the Library.

Starting Out: Applications, Internships and Work Experience - getting a job

You and Your Job: The Facts  – crucial startup info

Parliament: Users’ Guide – the knowledge

In the Constituency 

Casework  – essential tools

Your Office – vital skills

You can also see a selection of Standard Notes – from the House of Commons Library

Starting Out: Applications, internships and work experience

• Application Tips
  • Looking for a job working for an MP? Quick tips
  • Parliamentary CV Scheme feedback: Application advice from staff
  • Creating a Winning CV & Cover Letter
  • Giving a Successful Interview
  • Foreign nationals working for MPs
• Being an Intern / Doing Work Experience
  • Internships
  • National Minimum Wage and Volunteers

You and Your Job: The Facts

• Welcome
  • Guide to Working for an MP for New Staff: W4MP / DODS
  • Welcome pack for new staff 2013: Clerk of the House
  • How to survive your first ten days at Westminster
  • Access to refreshment facilities in the Palace of Westminster
  • Sporting and other groups which staff can join at Westminster
  • Finding your way: Maps of the Parliamentary Estate
• Your Employment
  • Redundancy
  • Maternity Leave and Pay for MPs’ Staff
  • Representation
  • Staff salary scales
  • Training courses for MPs’ Staff
  • Union membership for MPs’ Staff
  • Promotion of a Political Party: Guidance from IPSA and the Information Commissioner
  • Employment Rights
  • Commons Personnel Advice Service
• Your MP: Basic Info
  • The Members’ Handbook
  • Members and Constituency Etiquette – vital guide
  • MPs and Freedom of Information
  • Glossary of Parliamentary Terms
  • Defamation – how it applies to MPs
• Political links and know-how
  • Useful Internet Tools for Staff
  • Politics-related websites – Keele University links
  • Political opinion polling

Parliament: Users’ Guide

• Who’s Who
  • Guide to All Party Parliamentary Groups
  • PICT (Parl’y Info Communication & Technology) – what they offer
  • List of Ministerial Responsibilities
  • ‘Servants of the House’ – what the Clerks do
  • List of current MPs elected to Parliament following the 2010 General Election
  • Parl’y Office of Science & Technology – POST notes
  • Whips and Their Work
• The Library
  • 10 things the Library can do for you
  • Guides to Commons Library Services
  • The Library Loans Service
  • Online resources from the Commons Library
  • Library Contact Scheme
  • Commons Library Directory of Subject Specialists – latest version
  • Library Briefing Papers (Research Papers and Standard Notes)
• How it works
  • Legislation: Statutory Instruments made simple
  • Legislation: Working on Public Bills
  • Campaigning: Parliamentary Questions (PQs)
  • Campaigning: Early Day Motions
  • Campaigning: Petitioning 10 Downing Street
  • Schedules: The Dissolution and Prorogation of Parliament
• Researcher Extraordinaire
  • Writing a speech
  • How to compile a briefing for a roundtable or panel discussion
  • Handling the Media
  • Working with lobbyists

In the Constituency

Casework

• Planning and Management
  • Case management software information
  • Protocol clarified on representing constituents
  • Planning for Constituency Cases – Library Standard Note
• Issue by Issue
  • Guide to the Child Support Agency
  • Immigration Casework
  • Dealing with Service Providers and Consumer Protection (for Caseworkers and Researchers)
  • Asylum casework
  • Welfare Reforms 2011 onwards – road map to changes
• Tools and Resources
  • Hotline numbers for MPs, MEPs, MSPs, AMs and their staff
  • Toolkits for MPs’ staff by external organisations
  • Constituency Casework Toolkit – from the Commons Library

Your Office

• Organising things: Diary, meetings and events
  • Organising a Meeting in Parliament
  • Booking committee and meeting rooms
  • Today’s Meetings – where to find them all
  • How to get photos of your MP in the chamber
  • Parliamentary Outreach – free service for the public
  • Diary Management – Never miss another appointment
• Visits
  • How to organise a school visit to Westminster
  • How to arrange Gallery Tickets
• Hiring work experience students and interns
  • Organising Work Experience in an MP’s Office
  • Hiring Staff
  • Researcher’s Guide to Managing an Intern
  • Internships – main page listing guides for managers and interns
• Using the Library from the Constituency
• Organising events in the constituency
• Security at Westminster and in Constituency Offices
• Twelve Months in a Constituency Office
• Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues
• How to survive your first ten days in the constituency office