LIBRARY: Authoritative guides to help in your job, useful links and light reading.
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Since it began in 2000 w4mp has commissioned an extensive collection is a of guides to good practice to provide you with advice and support in carrying out the main activities expected of you in your job.
Most guides are written by staff working for MPs; some originate from various House Departments or our good friends in the House of Commons Library.
Guides are constantly being revised and updated so if you do print a guide out please remember to check back from time to time to see if changes have been made.
Navigating the w4mp Library
You can search the whole site, including guides, using the standard search bar or this search box:
Or you can follow these links
If you would like to see a full list of all guides then we have a Guide Index that you can consult.
Please let us know of items you think will be of interest – email editor@w4mp.org
Latest news below, or you can read all news items.
Updated dissolution guidance has been published by both the House of Commons and IPSA. For further information and links, please see our page on dissolution here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/general-elections/dissolution-guidance/
Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have. To register to attend, please email MST@parliament.uk
Posted in Event, News
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Tagged Digital Service, dissolution, general election, House of Commons, Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, IPSA, Members' Services Team, MST, PDS, PSD, Safety, security
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The Vote Office’s Publications Enquiries Team has launched a new weekly bulletin summarising all reports and papers published and available in the Vote Office. Paper Trail features links to the week’s bills, government papers, select committee and NAO reports. Paper Trail is available on ParliNET as well as in hard copy from the Vote Office…
If your office receives a ‘copyright infringement notice’, please inform Tara Cullen in the Members’ Services Team immediately, and do not respond to the notice until you have discussed it with her. MST is aware that there are also some scams going around at the moment, and it’s important to get them checked out. No genuine organisation…
All MPs are covered by employers’ liability insurance and a copy of the certificate should be printed and displayed in your office. The insurance renews on 1 April every year. You can find more information here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/your-office/insurance-for-mps/
A new series of podcasts has been launched, featuring Members’ staff and Teams across the House of Commons discussing different issues that affect Members’ Offices. To find out more, please see here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2184
During the Easter recess, the Official Report (Hansard) is offering Members’ staff an opportunity to learn how parliamentary proceedings are edited in the Official Report Spend an hour and a half with us and find out: We finish with a tour of the Hansard offices and the Press Gallery. We will be holding sessions on…
It’s that time of year, when IPSA Proxies lock themselves in their offices, set their phones to ‘do not disturb’ and bury their heads in spreadsheets. Yes, it’s year end! But don’t worry, IPSA has made things much simpler and, assuming you’ve been reasonably well-organised, sorting out your year-end documentation shouldn’t be too stressful. Don’t…
The WWG has published the results of this year’s annual survey of staff undertaken on behalf of the WWG by Dr Ashley Weinberg from Salford University. You can find the results and the WWG response on the WWG Wellbeing Hub:https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub
The recent announcements about cyber campaigns against the Electoral Commission and MPs from Deputy PM Oliver Dowden have been widely reported, and should concern everyone in Parliament. There is an extensive guide to cyber security on ParliNet, and we suggest reviewing the guidance there and ensuring that your office and personal systems are properly secured.
JOBS: a wide range of jobs relating to politics, including jobs working for MPs, Peers, MSPs and AMs.
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Job adverts can be found on w4mpjobs.
If you wish to place an job ad you can do so on w4mpjobs but please read the guidance carefully.
Further information
Hear what some others have said:
Events are starting to happen in the real world, but for the moment most of what’s listed here remains online.
If you want to tell us about an event that you think will be of interest to our readers, please complete the Event Submission form
Small ads from staff for accommodation – available or wanted – goods for sale etc.
We will only accept notices from staff of MPs or others with a current @parliament.uk email address. Use this form to submit a notice. Please don’t forget to let us know if your notice needs to be removed, e.g. if your accommodation has been let. If you have just started working for an MP and don’t have a parliamentary email address yet, ask a colleague to place a Notice for you.
Ref: 2978 In home in Highgate (Zone 2). Full use of house facilities. £785 per month incl. ideal for first time Londoner. Contact: Denniss@parliament.uk
Posted in Notice
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Tagged notice, room to rent
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Gov. uk has useful advice if you want to rent out a room in your home. If you are renting out either a room or a whole property, please read this important information on ‘Right to Rent’.
Training
The main resource for training for Members’ Staff is The Members’ Services Team.
Courses take place online, on the Parliamentary Estate and regionally, and if a course of interest is not available at a convenient location or date, they will endeavour to accommodate specific requirements, subject to sufficient demand (12 delegates and above).
Courses are free of charge to all Members’ staff who are paid through IPSA’s staffing allowance and travel costs to training events can be met from the expenses scheme administered by IPSA.
The full course catalogue is available via Act – the Parliamentary learning management system. Some courses are advertised as being for House staff, but MPs’ staff can still sign up for some of them, such as some of the courses from Parliamentary Digital. If in doubt, please do contact L&D for advice.
If you see a course you’d like to do, but there isn’t a session advertised yet, please do put yourself on the waiting list so that the MST knows that people are interested. This will also ensure that you get a notification of when a session is available.
email: MST@parliament.uk
House of Commons Library
The House of Commons Library arranges inductions, training and events for MPs and MPs’ staff. Visit the Library’s website to find out more.
To receive information on all upcoming Commons Library training courses and events, sign up for email updates for MPs’ staff and bookmark the Library’s ACT page.
Latest Training Courses
Join the Vote Office to learn more about its role in Parliament and develop your understanding of parliamentary business papers, publications and government reports. There are three online sessions covering different aspect of the Vote Office’s work. Each session lasts for thirty minutes. Introduction to the Vote Office: Monday 25 March 2024 at 1-1.30pmVote Office…
This short online course is designed to give learners an overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To find out more and enrol, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1344
Time: 10:30 – 11:30Date: Thursday 21 March 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The March 2024 forum will be on the topic of Local government finance for caseworkers. We will be joined by Mark Sandford from the Library’s Parliament and Constitution Centre and Phil Brien from our Economic Policy and Statistics Section. To book, click here:…
Welcome to Parliament. The new joiner induction sessions are now available to book via the ACT portal if you have a new joiner in your office, please share with them. This session will welcome you to being part of the Parliamentary community and cover essential information from key House services that will help you to…
Available to all Members’ Staff: Course Overview Most of the sessions are now fully booked, but there are still spaces for 26 March 2024 from 09:30 to 11:30. You can also join the wait-list for future sessions. To sign up or join the wait-list, please go to ACT: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2109 and log in using your Parliamentary…
Posted in Training
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Tagged CV, learning, training
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The ICO is hosting a webinar for Members’ staff on Constituency Casework Data and Dissolution on Thursday 7 March from 2pm. There will be an open Q&A session where you can ask any questions on this subject. To attend, please visit this page and then follow the link to register: https://parlinet.parliament.uk/information-resources/news-newsletters-notices/news/2024/february/preparing-casework-for-dissolution/
House of Commons Training Session Course Overview Sessions available on: To book, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2109
Time: 14:30 – 15:30Date: Thursday 22 February 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The February 2024 forum will be on the topic of Common employment law disputes. We will be joined by Patrick Brione from the Library’s Business and Transport Section. To book, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16610
Time: 10:30 – 11:30Date: Thursday 18 January 2024Location: Virtual via Microsoft Teams The January 2024 forum will be on the topic of Boundary changes: how to find data about new constituencies. We will be joined by staff from the Library’s Social and General Statistics Section. To sign up, please go here: https://parliament.learningpool.com/mod/facetoface/signup.php?s=16606
Please join the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Advocacy Team, who will raise awareness of Disability Services, to support your constituents. The Team will cover the Access to Work (ATW) grant which supports people with a health condition or a disability to get into and retain work. If you have a question you would…
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