What to do about IPSA?

Peter From Maidstone

For millions of us who have to work for a living, the expense procedures we have to follow are not for our benefit, but for the benefit of HMRC. Why should it be different for the 'Honourable' Members, especially when they are claiming vastly larger sums than most workers.

Andy H

MP's will constantly drip feed negativity about this to the press, and try and sow the seeds of an idea that IPSA is wrong so they can change it. It is vital that journalists are not complicit in this process.

It may not be perfect, but there is a huge list of other things that are not right in the world that need to take precedence. If they do not like it then they are free to leave and get a job else where.

Yosemite Sam

A large and expensive bureacracy is not needed to deal with this. MP's should have the same expenses regime as everyone else in the public sector, but because they have made such fools of themselves over expenses, and because they work for us, they should be required to publish all claims made on the internet every two months. The oxygen of publicity is the greatest disinfectant.

TrevorsDen

Its pretty pathetic that parliament cannot manage its affairs simply and sensibly.How difficult can it be.

Critics should note that the whole point about paying MPs in the first place was to encourage anyone no matter how poor to become an MP. So expecting them to subsidise the system whilst it catches up is hardly very clever.

The significant majority of MPs have to maintain homes in at least 2 different places and unlike say Shaun Woodward most do not have a wealthy wife to chip in.

Chris lancashire

Having just heard the IPSA Chairman on Radio5 I would guess that any organisation led by this nonentity would indeed be arrogant and inefficient. Scrap it.

David Ossitt

On the radio today they were reporting on the trial of a Scottish labour MP who is pleading innocent to the charge of false accounting for his expenses.

It was reported that the woman who is in charge of the accounts department at a printing works who many labour MPs use to print their propaganda, was giving evidence today.

She claimed that the defended had asked her on a number of occasions for receipts for work that had not been done.

He specifically asked for them to be signed and to have the words ‘received with thanks’.

She stated that this was wrong and had refused but that the owner had complied with the request.

When they find him guilty I hope that the fact he refused to plead guilty will extend his sentence somewhat.

tankus

Bet Hef's been on the phone to her , with an offer......

If she'll go that far for a local rag ..what will she do for £500k

May she could wear his gown and wig ..or get happy in for a combo

Gobbels Mick must be laughing his but off, as there is a new low to judge the office of speaker against .

Verity

James, do you really think the rest of the world shares a passionate knowledge if - Westminster Village acronyms.

I've noted that all of you posting here assume that the rest of us are as entranced by Westminster as you are.

TomJx

If the actual goal was to cut costs, each MP would be provided with a set amount to spend on government business and let them...wait for it...actually learn to budget money like everyone else. Paying clerks to put together the expense documents for the MPs, and then paying clerks to check these documents for Ipsa, is a waste of time. No wonder the government can't seem to find the time and money to actually govern!

Tarka the Rotter

Left wing trollop - nobody with any self respect would pose in this way...the Bercows are a disgrace.

Colin

They still think they're the victims.

They think that by tossing a few unloved sacrificial lambs to the slaughter (Chayter et al) that they've put all this fraud behind them and that they can move on.

The fact is, there are a number of arch criminals, on both front benches, that still have questions to answer. Some of their expenses and mortgage arrangements make Devine and Co, look spotless by comparison.

It seems that some kind of agreement has been reached, on a cross party basis and with the MSM, to just stop talking about expenses fraud and for that matter to target IPSA.

Can someone take another look at Balls/Cooper Inc. Their expenses arrangements weren't given the all clear by anyone I know...

Neil

Who'd of thought that a bunch of career civil servants and spin doctors would be incompetent???

Maybe Parliament should have have hired some people who have real world experience in the first place. Expenses for 600 odd people is staggeringly easy. Find an expenses process manager, an IT specialist and an employment tax professional and all will be well.

The problem is we are governed by a group of incompetents, who rely on a civil service who have never had real jobs. No wonder this country is dying.

2trueblue

So our MPs don't like the new sustem, 'So what' as Balls would put it. The MPs should shut up and put up and be very, very glad that they are not all being prosecuted. They spent over a decade flipping their properties, pocketing the profit, charging for accomodation that they were not really paying for, and getting away with it.
Whilst the rest of us are putting up with the downsizing of our lifestyles they just do not get it.
'So what' if there are teething problems with the new system.They spent years bullying clerks to push through expenses that were not legitimate. They turned up in their droves to prevent us from seeing what they were up to. If they had governed us with the same effort as they put into pocketing our money in their expenses the country would be in great shape. Some MPs were unsure where their actual home was until they wanted to sell or sort out their childrens schooling. I have no sympathy for them and if the head of IPSA sounds arrogant, can you imagine why he was picked for the job? To stand up for us as they try and continue to push through expenses! Grow up chaps and do what you said you wanted to do: serve us.

Fergus Pickering

What I heard was a load of MPs complaining about not getting free tea and biscuits, and I thought, 'Are these prats really the best we can do?' Self-important, humourless and stupid.

daniel maris

Any fule could come up with a workable expenses system within about 10 minutes.

Basic salary, secretarial assistance allowance, plus a sliding scale related to distance of constituency address or office from Westminster.

Simples!

Jane

I sent feedback on the system some weeks ago. In order to do so, it necessitated me reading the rules under which MPs claim. Having worked for forty years, the system seems more generous than what I adhered to. Some issues were difficult to comment on. For example travel to constituencies for MPs families and the number of journeys that can be claimed and whether this should be age related. I cannot accept that older children would accept weekends in constituencies when all evidence points to scheduled activities near to home and school. I was also unaware that MPs staff get twelve journeys per year paid for by the tax payer. I could not understand this in an age of technology. Another issue which seemed to upset MPs was claiming expenses if they choose to work late. At the moment they can claim subsistence and hotel costs only if the House sits late. They also want to combine certain allowances so that if they do not need one allowance they can spend the money on other expenses. I am totally opposed to this suggestion. Neither do they want to publish staff salaries which again I am opposed to. This seems to me to relate to payment of family members as we all know that many family members receive above the going rate. Similarly, MPs want to continue with first class travel - again I do not agree as regrettably I do not believe they have to work on trains regardless of their claim of the need to do do.

I honestly believe that we must be fair and ensure MPs receive an appropriate level of taxpayers money to undertake their role. I also believe that there have been problems particularly for new MPs in setting up their offices etc but these have largely been dealt with. It seems likely the rules will change to ensure some teething problems do not occur in the future.

Having read the document governing expenses and replying to the huge number of questions asked, I do think some things need tinkering with. However, I totally reject the statements being made about how ghastly IPSA is. Indeed, I think they have done remarkably well given the news system and having to deal with some awful and aggressive MPs. It seems to me that MPs want to return to their old habits and claim what they feel is right and not what the taxpayer feels is reasonable. IPSA has undertaken polls which indicate the public will not accept MPs having flexibility in expense claims. It seems apparent to me that having read the concerns of MPs they want to ignore the public's views. I am astonished given what has happened in the past.

Rhoda Klapp

Despite my only having one year of Latin, here is an example of tmesis which I think is appropriate to this subject: Boo-fucking-hoo.

Robert Eve

IPSA needs abolishing soonest.

£6 million to sort out expenses for 650 people. Absolute madness.

Ghengis

Rhoda:extremely masterful, Latin?.

Naomi Muse

@ Rhoda Klapp - Focused and to the point!

Latin - I didn't learn it at an early age but find it useful now having learned much through singing, gardening and general word play, which generated my interest.

IPSA - Did say at the outset that it was a poor set up. What is needed is easy to do and just needs a good computer system with scanning on board, and about 6/8 staff. Oh to avoid saying 'told you so' about IPSA, but then it was set up by Gordon Brown, and has the same flaws as all the things that Gordon Brown, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband did whilst in government.

TrevorsDen

Interesting stuff from Jane - but she talks as if MPs were claiming or want to claim unlimited sums.

There was I think a limit in what could be claimed 25K?
Personally I would increase MPs pay by 25k and remove expenses and reduce the bureaucracy.
This probably would not be fair to MPs in lands End and John o'Groats but ...