Office Standards

I am proud to represent more than 80,000 local residents in Luton North. My small constituency team deal with hundreds of cases every week, solving problems for local residents and replying to policy questions. We always aim to respond to emails and queries as quickly as possible and help where we can.

My office is not an emergency service, and cannot offer out of hours support. In an emergency, always call 999. We treat everyone who approaches us with respect and expect the same in return. I will not tolerate abuse nor actions that result in unacceptable or excessive demands on my staff that prevents them from doing their jobs effectively.

The below policy reflects the standards of behaviour we uphold in our office.

Aggressive or abusive behaviour

I understand that many constituents contact me as a last resort after many other attempts to seek help have been unsuccessful, and thus are often upset or frustrated about the issue they have. I understand this feeling, but will not tolerate abuse or aggression directed at my staff, including physical acts of aggression or intimidation.

It is not acceptable to shout or swear at my staff, either on the phone or in person. Unacceptable language may include:

Language which is offensive, derogatory or patronising,
Discriminatory, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or
Makes allegations that individuals have committed criminal, corrupt or perverse conduct without evidence.

I take threats to my team extremely seriously and will escalate to the police if necessary.

Unreasonable or excessive demands

My small team work extremely hard to solve the problems of Luton North residents within the remit of the office of a Member of Parliament. As stated above, my office is not an emergency service, and there may be limits to the help we are able to provide. MPs offices cannot, for example:

Offer legal advice eg. on housing or immigration cases
Overturn decisions made by regulators or ombudsman
Make public bodies prioritise certain urgent cases over others
Provide personal references or countersign passport applications
Overturn decisions made by the local authority
Intervene in or overturn planning decisions

I consider unreasonable or excessive demands to include:

Repeatedly demanding response within an unreasonable timescale
Insisting on seeing or speaking to a particular member of staff
Making repeated or unnecessary contact during the course of us dealing with your case
Refusing to accept a decision where explanations of the decision have been provided

Harassment

My team has the right to do their jobs free from harassment or the threat of harassment. An example of harassing behaviour might include:

Recording or videoing staff and publishing interactions with my office on social media
Contacting staff using their personal contact details or social media presence
Publishing personal, sensitive or private information about staff online or in other public domains such as noticeboards or newsletters

Office visitation policy

Under guidance from Parliamentary authorities, my team and I do not see constituents without an appointment, nor do we see people who 'drop-by' the office without informing us ahead of time. If you visit the office without an appointment you will not be admitted, and asked to call or email to request an appointment which will be at a time when we are available to see you.

Actions I may take

My staff have the right to do their jobs free from abuse or threats, as anyone would expect in their place of work. Actions I may take in event of a breach in the above policy may include:

Warning a constituent about their behaviour and requesting that they modify their behaviour in the future
Reporting an individual to the police
Appointing a specific point of contact for the constituent
Communicating only in writing or via a representative
Ending all communication with a constituent
Restricting or limiting contact
Blocking an email or telephone number from our systems.