MPs told they can keep employing family members
MPs will be allowed to continue employing spouses despite overwhelming public hostility, the head of the new expenses watchdog said yesterday.
Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, risked the wrath of the Speaker and the Committee on Standards in Public Life by allowing one family member to be employed per MP.
Working with family members came under scrutiny after Derek Conway, a Conservative MP, was found to be paying his son for work that he could not prove he was carrying out.
MPs had lobbied Sir Ian to be able to continue employing their spouses and children, prompting questions over whether he took the views of MPs more seriously than those of the public. Sir Ian sided with MPs rather than the 59 per cent who told a public consultation that the new watchdog was wrong.
Sir Christopher Kelly, head of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, expressed disappointment with the move.
Despite the decision, future MPs who live outside London will have their expenses reduced by 30 per cent or £16,000 a year.
The changes were tougher than expected and could result in more MPs standing down. Sir Ian said that the £60,000 resettlement grant would not be paid in the future because it was part of the remuneration package rather than expenses, although he would look again if the expenses watchdog were given responsibility for pay as well.
Existing MPs who are re-elected will be banned from claiming mortgage interest after two years, forcing an earlier-than-expected sale of many homes.
MPs who claim mortgage interest during this period will be forced to pay back any profit that they make, although the definition and mechanism for doing this has not been decided. If house prices rise, MPs could, in effect, be asked in two years to hand back all the money that they have claimed.
Only MPs with children under the age of 5 will be able to claim an extra allowance that takes into account their family circumstances. The maximum that can be claimed by MPs in one year for accommodation and costs relating to their constituency office will be £40,957 for MPs outside London and £26,915 for London MPs. The current figures are £56,915 and £40,192.
This means that MPs outside London will face a cut in allowances by £16,000, while London MPs will lose about £13,000.
London MPs will be defined as those who live within 20 miles of Westminster or can reach any part of their constituency within 60 minutes by public transport in peak hours, meaning that 128 MPs in the new parliament will be unable to claim for extra accommodation. All MPs will have to travel standard class rather than first class, although ministers will still be allowed to travel first class under the Government expenses scheme.
Sir Ian said: “No longer will MPs benefit from a slack allowances system. This brings MPs’ expenses in line with those in most other areas of life. Expenses will be reimbursed only for legitimate costs, backed up by receipts.”
The system will come into force in the next parliament, with the first expenses paid late in June.
Source : Times
Related posts:
