Dan Whittle - Senior parliamentary assistant to Anne Snelgrove

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Question: Is the work of researchers under-acknowledged?

Dan Whittle: Researchers are under-acknowledged in some ways but then again they do not have the same pressures as an MP. Researchers do get to have time off and have a private life, which MPs don't.

I look forward to a time when voters want to know specifically that their MP is a good employer and they employ good people because the work of researchers and caseworkers is extremely important to what MPs do and to the service that they give to constituents.

Pay is an issue in terms of under-acknowledgement because the lower pay band for researchers and for junior secretaries is around £13,000, which is not what most people would consider to be a living wage. I can't complain about the acknowledgement I get from my own boss, mine is an extremely good employer and always acknowledges what I do.

Question: What is you favourite thing about working in Parliament?

Dan Whittle: The best thing is seeing your work have an effect. Just before Christmas we had a case involving an abducted child being returned to her parents. The child was taken to Mexico by his father, and we had a long involvement with the Foreign Office and the police. You hope your input has the desired effect but you never know - however in this case we were able to help.

Before working in Parliament I was a journalist and my involvement with issues had to be very temporary but in politics you can see something through from start to finish, which is very satisfying. A good example of this is the Farepak issue that Anne has been really involved with from the start. Farepak is a Christmas hamper company that went bust affecting about 150,000 people.

Question: And your least favourite?

Dan Whittle: The modernisation of the House of Commons for researchers in general is probably the worst thing about working here. There is currently a rule that MPs can jump the queue in front of researchers, which is unnecessary when of course any researcher would get out the way if someone was in a hurry.

It is not the most important thing but it is emblematic of a work environment that needs updating. Some researchers would like access to a crèche, occupational health services - there are a few issues like this that could do with being sorted out.

Question: If you could introduce one law, what would it be?

Dan Whittle: Anne is presenting a 10 minute rule bill following what happened with Farepak and we have both been working on that.

It is to provide protection for people who use Christmas clubs, because at the moment they think they are savers but don’t have protection. You get very involved with what your MP does and I would imagine that would be the law I introduced.

Question: Why is it important to recognise the work of researchers through events such as the MP Researcher Awards?

Dan Whittle: They won't be recognised anywhere else. The media doesn't report it and often the MPs themselves are very busy, I'm lucky to work for a backbencher but if you work for a minister you might not see them more than once a week. Sometimes the people you are dealing with in the pubic are very negative towards politicians because they have preconceived ideas and you are in the frontline for that. Therefore it is really important that there is a way to reward what researchers do.

However I also think there needs to be an MP Employer of the Year Award to reward MPs who are outstanding employers, because as researchers we rely on that.