Branch News


Members’ Expenses Committee report takes on board branch concerns about staff pay and consultation with IPSA

The recently published report from the House of Commons Members’ Expenses Committee into the Operation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 contained some good recommendations for staff based on the oral and written evidence submitted by the branch earlier in the year. Three wins for the branch were the recommendations that staff groups should be included in consultations in the same way that statutory consultees have been in the past, that staff expenses should be paid promptly and direct to staff and that IPSA should review the remuneration for staff, including redundancy, to allow MPs to retain experienced staff and provide opportunities for interns.

The report said:

16. Impact on MPs’ staff

167. We received evidence from the Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch and the Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association about the impact of IPSA’s scheme on the terms and conditions of MPs’ staff. Some of the staff observations related to the difficulties of the claims process, and were similar to MPs’ observations. As one member of staff put it, “I feel the constituents have been let down by the amount of time we are diverted away from day to day business to deal with admin and expenses matters”. There were several criticisms relating to the impact on staff. Continue reading

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Access to Pugin Room extended to MPs’ staff before midday everyday from 10 January 2012

For those branch members who may have missed it on the Parliamentary Intranet, following the Administration Committee’s inquiry into Catering and Retail Services and the Commission’s response, the Catering and Retail Services (CRS) have made some changes to the access arrangement in the Pugin room that will benefit MPs’ staff:

The Pugin Room

Catering and Retail Services is pleased to advise that, with effect from the 10th January, full pass holders will have access to the Pugin Room until midday every day.

Further changes to other venues resulting from the Administration Committee’s inquiry will be communicated as they happen.

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IPSA holding staff sessions in January – book now

Westminster-based branch members are encouraged to book a time in January to speak to IPSA about some of the staffing issues coming out of their current consultation on the MPs’ Expenses Scheme. The following message went out in the most recent IPSA bulletin for staff:

Annual review – staff sessions

As you know, our current consultation on the Annual Review of the MP’s Scheme of Expenses and Costs focuses on staffing provisions. We are keen that MPs’ staff members contribute their knowledge and experience on the matters under consultation. Of course, staff members can submit responses on the consultation, but in addition we are running two staff sessions in January. We will use these two hour sessions to get feedback from staff on the issues raised in our current consultation.

The sessions will be held in the Palace of Westminster on the following dates;

  • 12 January 2012 at 10-12
  • 19 January 2012 at 2-4

We have limited spaces for these, so please book if you wish to attend. To book a place, please send an email to info@parliamentarystandards.org.uk with a subject heading of FAO: Karen Hennessy – Staff session.

If you aren’t able to make one of these sessions, please remember you can contribute to the branch’s response as well as sending in your own comments. More information about how to help shape the branch’s response is available here.

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Message from the NUJ – fight for our BBC!

The BBC wants to make 20% cuts over the next 5 years as a result of a freeze in your licence fee.

It will mean the loss of 2,000 jobs and cuts to core news and programming across the BBC. Under the plans 22% of local radio output will go, at a time when listening is up.

Current affairs and investigative programming will be cut – with 40% reductions outside London. By the end of 2012, there will be almost no television or radio made for the national networks from Birmingham. There will be reductions in sports coverage including Formula One.

Staff inside the BBC face redundancy and stringent cuts to terms and conditions. Since 2004 the BBC has already lost more than 7,000 jobs – 1,000 every year. It’s not sustainable.

Licence fee payers were not asked for their views when the deal was done. The BBC has even said it will press ahead with making the cuts before the BBC Trust’s current public consultation has closed.

Licence fee payers should have a say. Research has consistently shown that people would be prepared to pay more than the current licence fee to protect the BBC.

The cost of an annual licence fee has gone up by just £10 since 2007. It now costs just over £12 a month for all the TV, radio, website and live events the BBC covers. That compares to more than £60 a month for some subscription services.

If all the current licence fee paying households paid just 7 pence more per day these cuts could be stopped.

Please send this postcard – or hand it to Stuart Watkin, c/o John McDonnell MP. The consultation runs until Wednesday 21 December 2011.

NUJ_BBC_Postcard_new1

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Branch members’ views wanted for annual review of IPSA’s MPs’ Expenses Scheme

It’s that time of year again – IPSA has published their annual consultation document on the MPs’ expenses system.

Hard copies of the document are available through the Vote Office, or you can view an online copy here.

Up for discussion are the overall staffing budget, staff pay, the relationship between party political work and parliamentary work together with many other issues that will affect branch members. Continue reading

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Privacy & data protection courses in London and the regions

Given recent media reports, branch members (and indeed some MPs!) might be interested in attending one of the upcoming one day courses on privacy and data protection run by Capita Learning & Development.

It’s for the MP as the employer to make sure everyone is knowledgeable about data protection and privacy laws to protect themselves and constituents’ information, but the reality of busy offices and caseloads means that often this training gets missed.

Full details of the course are available here. It looks quite comprehensive: Continue reading

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Advice and guidance for members on industrial action scheduled for 30 November

As you will know, Unite along with several other unions is taking industrial action on 30th November.  Colleagues in Parliament will be on strike and consequently there will be picket lines at most entrances to the estate.

We ask you to respect these picket lines in support of the action that is being taken to protect colleagues’ pensions.

If you are able to take annual leave or make alternative arrangements to work elsewhere, it would be much appreciated.  Click here for guidance from the union for members who are not on strike on Wednesday. Continue reading

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Drop-in advice session this Thursday

Drop-in advice session 17th November Room O, Portcullis House 12-2pm

If you are a member of the Union and want to pop by, say hello and raise any problems with branch officers (IPSA or MP related) we’ll be in Room O, Portcullis House 12-2pm, THIS THURSDAY, 17th November.

If you aren’t a member we’ll be happy to discuss the benefits of being a member, but please be aware we can only offer advice re employment to existing members.

Refreshments, membership forms and Unite freebies available too.

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Branch Secretary Louise Haigh writes about the cost of working for an MP for Total Politics

Branch Secretary Louise Haigh has written the following article about employment practices in Parliament for Total Politics magazine. For the link click here

This week, the cost to the taxpayer of pay-outs to MPs’ staff on winning tribunal claims was revealed.  The figure, £350,000 over the past five years, made headlines. But as a union rep for MPs’ staff I was surprised it wasn’t higher.

The negative associations that the public have with MPs and politics in general are often projected onto those working for parliamentarians, sometimes not unjustly. Yet I cannot imagine many who have not directly-experienced working for an MP who have the first idea of the shoddy employment practices that pervade within the very walls where these standards are set.

Firstly, it’s important to point out that MPs’ offices operate as separate entities. The House of Commons is effectively made up of 650 small businesses, with MPs receiving staffing budgets from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) and allocating them as they see fit. Continue reading

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Branch reps give evidence about IPSA to Members’ Expenses Committee

On 3 November Branch Chair Max Freedman and Political Officer Lauren Edwards gave evidence to the House of Commons Members’ Expenses Committee about how MPs’ staff have been impacted by the operation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). This followed the written submission we  made earlier in their inquiry on behalf of branch members.

To watch a video of the session click here and an uncorrected transcript of the session is available here so you can see what we covered.

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