The Administration wants to reach a broad and diverse audience via its social media channels and different content is devised for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For this reason, the House of Lords Official Twitter account has run campaigns previously relating to the following characteristics: Race, Religion, Gender and LGBT+; as well as national campaigns such as Mental Health Awareness Week and National Inclusion Week.

The purpose of this is to create communications and engagement initiatives which seek to enhance the reputation and demonstrate the impact of the House of Lords, building a compelling case for its continued place at the heart of the UK’s parliamentary democracy. The Administration will continue to look for opportunities to deliver a diverse range of campaigns which reflect the diversity of our audiences.

The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which constitutes a Parliament-wide regime for tackling bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, was subject to a review after six months of operation, which has been published on the UK Parliament website, and a further review (the ’18-month review’) is planned for later this year, which is also expected to be published. This will be led by an independent reviewer, supported by an advisory panel, and will be an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the Scheme, as well as to consider specific policy changes as directed by the 6-month review. The Codes of Conduct for Lords Members and Lords Members’ Staff now include the ICGS provisions on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, and these are kept under active review by the Conduct Committee.

In addition to the work to review the effectiveness of the ICGS, additional formal mechanisms are in place or planned which will help to assess progress on improving the broader workplace culture in the House of Lords and specific progress on addressing the recommendations made by Naomi Ellenbogen QC in 2019 in her review of bullying and harassment in the House of Lords. These include the Steering Group for Change, composed of staff and peer representatives, tasked with monitoring progress of implementation of Naomi Ellenbogen QC ’s report on bullying and harassment in the House of Lords, and providing advice and support to the Management Board and House of Lords Commission on their response to the report. There will also be a 12-month review of progress in implementing the recommendations of that report.

Valuing Everyone is a training module designed specifically for Parliament that aims to raise awareness of, and confidence to tackle, bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, as well as to highlight the sources of support available to those who have experienced this behaviour. Variations of this training are offered to staff of both Houses, members of both Houses and members’ staff.

The training is part of a suite of initiatives that together ensure that Parliament is a safe and respectful workplace, with zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct. The two Houses will continue to conduct regular　surveys, among other measures, to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives.

Participants are routinely asked to complete feedback forms, and the results of these (including those from MPs and Peers) demonstrate that participants have an overwhelmingly positive experience of the training, and in particular report that they are better able to recognise and call out unacceptable behaviour. These, together with ad hoc feedback from participants, allow an ongoing dialogue enabling the course to remain relevant and suitable for all parts of the parliamentary community. In addition, the training provider submits regular anonymised reports to the two Houses on themes that have emerged during the training, so that appropriate steps can be taken to address risks or to communicate more effectively about Parliament’s response to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.