Norman Lamb's Constituency Office

Norman's constituency office can be found at:

15 Market Place, North Walsham, NR28 9BP

Tel: 01692 403752 Fax: 01692 500818

The office is normally open to the public at the following times:

Monday to Friday 10.00am - 1.30pm

How the office works

All Norman's post and correspondence is dealt with at the constituency office, although he also has an office at the House of Commons and employs a full-time researcher there. The paid staff in both North Walsham and London, are supported by some excellent volunteers, and from time to time by interns and students wanting some work experience. If you are interested in volunteering or work experience please contact the office.

Meet the staff

Chrissie Litchfield - Personal Assistant

Chrissie's role as Norman's PA covers diary arrangements, both in the constituency and in Westminster, correspondence and, occasionally, some casework. She also arranges tours of the House of Commons.

Chrissie previously worked for many years for a large firm of solicitors based in Norwich and, more recently, for solicitors in Fakenham.

Email Chrissie.

Siân Pearce - Office Manager and Caseworker

Siân has worked for Norman since he was first elected in 2001. Her job revolves around the management and administrative tasks relating to the running of the constituency office, although she also helps out with casework. Before joining Norman's team Siân was a Research Centre Administrator at the University of East Anglia, and prior to that she worked for the then Department of the Environment.

Email Siân.

Alex Howe - Senior Caseworker

Alex works at the constituency office three days a week and became the senior caseworker in May 2007. She was originally a volunteer in the constituency office and assisted Norman with casework correspondence prior to his election in 2001. Alex previously worked at the University of East Anglia, where she was the publications secretary for an environmental research centre.

Email Alex.

Courtney Emerson - Constituency Assistant

Courtney's main role is to provide 'frontline' administrative support. Amongst her many activities she deals with all incoming correspondence and enquiries from constituents and maintains office records. In fact she does whatever is necessary to keep the administrative wheels of the constituency office turning!

Courtney has previously worked mainly in customer service/admin in the NHS and retail. She has also served on her local parish council.

Email Courtney.

Simon Wright - Communications and Campaigns

Simon is employed on a part time contract to deal with Norman's parliamentary communications (including press, and reporting back to constituents). He is also employed on a part time basis by the Liberal Democrats to organise campaigning activities in North Norfolk. Simon is a former teacher of mathematics and was formerly a District Councillor in North Norfolk. He is now the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Norwich South and in 2006 married Rosalind.

Email Simon.

Andrew Forth - Researcher

Andrew runs Norman's Westminster office, dealing with non-constituency correspondence, and researching material for Norman's debates and speeches as well as co-ordinating the work of volunteer staff. Before working for Norman, Andrew worked as a translator in Germany and studied at the University of East Anglia and in London.

Email Andrew.

Volunteers

The constituency office in North Walsham also relies on volunteer staff to assist with some aspects of the heavy casework load. At the moment we have Angela Rice as a regular volunteer.

MPs office and other expenses explained

All MPs are given annual allowances by Parliament to employ staff and run a constituency office and surgeries etc. These allowances include: Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) - to reimburse MPs for the costs of living away from home when on Parliamentary Business; Incidental Expenses Provision (IEP) - to meet the costs of running an office; Staffing Allowance - to enable MPs to engage London and constituency based staff. There are also allowances for MPs' and staff travel, centrally purchased stationery and equipment.

The allowance claimed by MPs each financial year is now published by Parliament. In 2006-2007 the allowances Norman claimed were as follows: additional costs allowance - £18,756, office running costs (incidental expenses) - £22,043, staff costs £80,258, MP's and staff travel - £9,138 + £212; central stationery £1,962 and postage £5,049, central IT provision - £1,039 and other costs - £12,451 (this figures is the cost of additional staff to cover 2 periods of maternity leave during 2006/07). Norman's travel costs in 2006-2007 can be broken down into £3,418 for car/taxi costs, which are mainly the costs of mileage within the constituency; there was £1,942 spent on European travel on Parliamentary business, and the remainder of £3,778 was spent mainly on fares to and from London to attend Parliament. In previous years, because Norman's constituency office has been so busy, the costs of running the office have sometimes actually exceeded the allowances provided, and these additional costs have been met by Norman personally.

Further information about MPs' allowances and how Parliament works.