House of Lords Returners Development Programme Important Information
The House of Lords will be conducting security checks as part of the application process. Before applying for the programme it is essential that you read the information provided below:
Pre-appointment Checks
The House of Lords recognise that this programme does not constitute employment, however all successful candidates will be required to undergo pre-appointment checks and the Baseline Security Standard, which apply to everyone who works on the Parliamentary Estate. These include satisfactory references, health and security checks.
Successful applicants’ publicly open social media profiles will also be checked under this stage of the process and information obtained may be used to review suitability for the programme.
Baseline Security Standard
The House of Lords takes security extremely seriously and, like all, has to comply with a Baseline Security Standard. The standard requires that they ascertain the identity of the applicant, their right to work in the UK, their employment or academic history over the last three years, and their address history over the last three years.
Successful candidates will be required to complete pre-appointment checks. This includes security vetting to Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) level unless otherwise specified. All successful applicants are required to pass these checks before a returnship can be confirmed.
Applicants should be aware that if they have resided outside of the UK for a total of more than two of the last five years, they are not eligible for vetting.
Please see the National Security Vetting booklet for further information.
In addition, applicants are required to give a reasonable account of any significant recent periods of time (more than six months) spent abroad. Applicants who have been unemployed or self-employed for over six months in the last three years (whose last three years’ employment/academic history are not covered by references) will be asked to provide further documentation to prove their history.
House of Lords Onboarding Process
If your application is successful, you will be required to complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and right to work checks as part of your onboarding with the House of Lords. Please see below for the information you will need to provide:
As part of the BPSS, you will need to be able to provide the following:
- A scanned or clear-well lit photo of the front, back cover and the two photo pages of your passport together
- Proof of address (e.g. bank statement, drivers licence, copy of a utility bill dated within the last 3 months, but not a mobile phone bill)
Once these documents have been received and processed, you will be asked to provide the following information as part of the security form:
- Contact details for references who can cover the last three years continuously – this should include the full name and email address of each referee who can be contacted. In most cases, references can be provided by academic institutions, employers, or character referees, and must be submitted from a business or professional email address. If there are any questions about suitable referees, the recruitment team can be contacted to discuss further
- Parents details and their nationality
You will also be required to come onsite to drop off your documents as part of your right to work check, this will be arranged with you by a member of the recruitment team.
Impartiality and Professional Conduct
If offered a place on the programme candidates will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies:
Political Judgement
- An understanding of the political context of the Committees work, including awareness of wider public policy debates
- The ability to produce objective and balanced work that is not influenced by personal political or other views
Professionalism, Tact and Discretion
- The ability to manage sensitive matters with tact and discretion, and to represent the team both internally and externally with a high level of professionalism
