MPs won’t have to declare individual expenses under £50 in a shake-up of rules being proposed by Parliament’s regulator.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which is responsible for MPs’ pay and expenses, has unveiled plans to change how it publishes information.
In a new consultation launched last night, the watchdog advocated the scrapping of individual expense declarations for ‘small-value items’.
IPSA suggested the move would protect MPs from bad publicity, saying that expense claims for items such as newspapers or stationery can ‘look unusual’ or be ‘taken out of context’.
The watchdog was created in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal, which emerged in 2009 and saw huge public outcry at claims by politicians of all parties.
This included MPs claiming for items such as dog food, nail polish and – infamously – a floating duck island for a garden pond.
MPs won’t have to declare individual expenses under £50 in a shake-up of expenses rules being proposed by Parliament’s regulator
In its consultation document, published on the eve of the Labour Government’s first Budget, IPSA noted how it currently publishes expenses claims of ‘very low value’.
It gave the example of ‘a newspaper or a small item of stationery’, adding that while expense claims for such items are ‘legitimate… they can look unusual’.
‘Especially when viewed in isolation and not in the context of the office’s other running costs,’ the consultation added.
IPSA said there were indications that ‘the publication of individual items, particularly of small value, can create a disincentive to MPs and staff, who may not seek reimbursement at all’.
‘We need to ensure our publication approach does not create a situation where MPs or their staff are self-funding their parliamentary work,’ the document added.
‘Parliament must be accessible to people from all walks of life, and not just those with independent wealth or other sources of income.’
IPSA proposed changing the publication of expense claims to ‘aggregate low-value items in such a way that they are no longer published as individual lines’.
It suggested one option would be to set a value of £50 and ‘aggregate items below that threshold’.
‘Information on these costs would still be published every two months, along with the cost types,’ the consultation added.
‘We believe this proposal would retain an appropriate level of transparency for members of the public.
‘While mitigating the risk that the amounts are taken out of context or that publication presents a disincentive to MPs and their staff from accessing the funding they need to do their jobs.’
Other potential changes include publishing claims for rental costs annually, capping the amount MPs can spend on communications and advertising, and allowing MPs to recognise staff members’ past service with other parliamentarians in order to protect their employment rights.
Richard Lloyd, Ipsa’s chairman, said: ‘The general election in July led to the UK having its most diverse Parliament yet. Appropriate funding is crucial to supporting anyone, from all walks of life, to be an MP.
‘As a regulator, we also have a duty to provide assurance to the public that public money is being spent in the right way, on the right things.
‘This consultation proposes changes to the way we regulate MPs that recognises the importance of appropriate funding and flexibility to enable MPs to do their jobs, alongside the need for transparency and promoting public trust and confidence in our parliamentary democracy.’
The consultation is open until December 13.