By Alex Klaushofer
09 July 2009
A reformed system for MPs’ expenses should give politicians flat-rate allowances without the need for receipts, the new head of the National Audit Office has said.
Amyas Morse, who took up his post as comptroller and auditor general of the National Audit Office in June, was giving evidence to the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s inquiry into MPs’ expenses on July 7.
He told the committee that a simple system of fixed allowances, which would not necessarily match MPs’ actual expenditure, was the best solution in the wake of the expenses scandal.
‘A simple undifferentiated system of allowances would be easier to administer and more cost-effective to operate,’ he said.
‘The new system should make it easy for MPs to do the right thing, and difficult for them not to do so intentionally.’
He denied that his proposal would amount to handing MPs £100,000 to £200,000 in addition to their salary.
‘I’d be very surprised if these allowances turned out to be very generous,’ he said.
He also rejected a suggestion from committee member Brian Woods-Scawen that this measure would damage public trust by allowing politicians to spend public money on inappropriate things.
‘I don’t think it would arise,’ he said, pointing out that the details of expenditure would not be disclosed. ‘That’s why I’m recommending it.’
The National Audit Office is conducting a full-scope audit of MPs’ expenses for 2009/10 – the first inspection of its kind.
Morse said the approach involved taking samples to check if MPs’ claims matched expenditure, but the audit would be limited by the existing rules on disclosure.
‘A lot can be done in terms of the audit approach, but it’s not going to be perfect at this stage,’ he said.
Roger Gale MP, also speaking to the standards committee, joined the growing concern about the suitability of the Parliamentary Standards Bill, currently going through Parliament, to clean up politics.
He said the Bill was among the worst he had seen as chair of the standards committee. ‘It’s a dog’s breakfast of a Bill, because it’s been thrown together in a hurry, and we repent at leisure unless we get these things right.
‘It’s not going to do the job that everybody thinks it’s going to do,’ he added.
His comments follow criticism from the Lords’ constitution select committee, which said that the emergency measures were being rushed through without proper scrutiny.
09 July 2009
A reformed system for MPs’ expenses should give politicians flat-rate allowances without the need for receipts, the new head of the National Audit Office has said.
Amyas Morse, who took up his post as comptroller and auditor general of the National Audit Office in June, was giving evidence to the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s inquiry into MPs’ expenses on July 7.
He told the committee that a simple system of fixed allowances, which would not necessarily match MPs’ actual expenditure, was the best solution in the wake of the expenses scandal.
‘A simple undifferentiated system of allowances would be easier to administer and more cost-effective to operate,’ he said.
‘The new system should make it easy for MPs to do the right thing, and difficult for them not to do so intentionally.’
He denied that his proposal would amount to handing MPs £100,000 to £200,000 in addition to their salary.
‘I’d be very surprised if these allowances turned out to be very generous,’ he said.
He also rejected a suggestion from committee member Brian Woods-Scawen that this measure would damage public trust by allowing politicians to spend public money on inappropriate things.
‘I don’t think it would arise,’ he said, pointing out that the details of expenditure would not be disclosed. ‘That’s why I’m recommending it.’
The National Audit Office is conducting a full-scope audit of MPs’ expenses for 2009/10 – the first inspection of its kind.
Morse said the approach involved taking samples to check if MPs’ claims matched expenditure, but the audit would be limited by the existing rules on disclosure.
‘A lot can be done in terms of the audit approach, but it’s not going to be perfect at this stage,’ he said.
Roger Gale MP, also speaking to the standards committee, joined the growing concern about the suitability of the Parliamentary Standards Bill, currently going through Parliament, to clean up politics.
He said the Bill was among the worst he had seen as chair of the standards committee. ‘It’s a dog’s breakfast of a Bill, because it’s been thrown together in a hurry, and we repent at leisure unless we get these things right.
‘It’s not going to do the job that everybody thinks it’s going to do,’ he added.
His comments follow criticism from the Lords’ constitution select committee, which said that the emergency measures were being rushed through without proper scrutiny.
