The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has today announced details of a new expenses scheme for MPs.
IPSA has highlighted the following key changes in its press release:
I will look through the whole document and see what else is worthy of note.
Other measures included in the new scheme include:
12.45pm update:
*The 128 MPs who will under the new rules be unable to claim anything for renting a London property are all 73 MPs from Greater London along with MPs repsresenting the following 55 seats in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex:
Aldershot; Basildon & Billericay; Basingstoke; Beaconsfield; Brentwood & Ongar; Broxbourne; Castle Point; Chatham & Aylesford; Chelmsford; Chesham & Amersham; Crawley; Dartford; East Surrey; Epping Forest; Epsom & Ewell; Esher & Walton; Gravesham; Guildford; Harlow; Hemel Hempstead; Hertford & Stortford; Hertsmere; Hitchin & Harpenden; Luton North; Luton South; Maidenhead; Mid Sussex; Milton Keynes North; Milton Keynes South; Mole Valley; North East Bedfordshire; North East Hampshire; North East Hertfordshire; Reading East; Reading West; Reigate; Rochester & Strood; Runnymede & Weybridge; Sevenoaks; Slough; South Basildon & East Thurrock; South West Bedfordshire; South West Hertfordshire; South West Surrey; Spelthorne; St Albans; Stevenage; Surrey Heath; Thurrock; Tonbridge & Malling; Watford; Welwyn Hatfield; Windsor; Woking; and Wycombe.
5.15pm update:
Sir George Young, Shadow Leader of the House, has welcomed IPSA's proposals on behalf of the Conservative front bench:
“We supported the creation of an independent regulator to determine and pay MPs’ expenses. We are grateful that IPSA have said the new scheme will be up and running by the beginning of the new Parliament. We welcome that the overall costs of this new package, and IPSA’s running costs, will be lower than at present, which we have long argued for. We believe that IPSA’s proposals should be accepted as one of the steps we need to take to clean up Parliament.”
7pm update:
The BBC has a handy guide here comparing the old expenses regime with the new rules.
Jonathan Isaby