By David Williams
16 October 2009
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is optimistic that its review of MPs’ expenses will be quickly implemented and draw a line under the furore.
The committee, chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly, is due to issue its report – which is likely to recommend a fairer and more transparent system of allowances – in early November.
Its members are refusing to comment publicly until then, but a committee spokeswoman told Public Finance the report would be ‘forward-looking’, rather than demanding that MPs atone for their past abuses of the system.
‘We won’t be going over individual cases – we will be making recommendations for how the system should be,’ she said.
The spokeswoman said that, despite some equivocal language from party leaders, members had reason to be hopeful that its recommendations would be implemented in full.
The row was reignited as the Commons returned from the summer recess on October 12, when a parliamentary audit into the affair demanded that MPs pay back substantial sums.
The audit, led by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg, set retrospective limits on the amounts that could be claimed for gardening and cleaning. However, there were no penalties for MPs who made financial gains by ‘flipping’ their designated first and second homes.
Some Labour MPs highlighted the taxpayer subsidies for expensive second mortgages enjoyed by leading Conservatives, including Opposition Leader David Cameron. They contrasted this with those living modestly but claiming for a decently-paid cleaner, who are being asked to repay thousands of pounds.
Other MPs were angered by what they say are factual errors in the Legg letters delivered to all members.
One MP, Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy, said she had been asked to provide paperwork on a mortgage from before she entered the Commons.
16 October 2009
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is optimistic that its review of MPs’ expenses will be quickly implemented and draw a line under the furore.
The committee, chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly, is due to issue its report – which is likely to recommend a fairer and more transparent system of allowances – in early November.
Its members are refusing to comment publicly until then, but a committee spokeswoman told Public Finance the report would be ‘forward-looking’, rather than demanding that MPs atone for their past abuses of the system.
‘We won’t be going over individual cases – we will be making recommendations for how the system should be,’ she said.
The spokeswoman said that, despite some equivocal language from party leaders, members had reason to be hopeful that its recommendations would be implemented in full.
The row was reignited as the Commons returned from the summer recess on October 12, when a parliamentary audit into the affair demanded that MPs pay back substantial sums.
The audit, led by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg, set retrospective limits on the amounts that could be claimed for gardening and cleaning. However, there were no penalties for MPs who made financial gains by ‘flipping’ their designated first and second homes.
Some Labour MPs highlighted the taxpayer subsidies for expensive second mortgages enjoyed by leading Conservatives, including Opposition Leader David Cameron. They contrasted this with those living modestly but claiming for a decently-paid cleaner, who are being asked to repay thousands of pounds.
Other MPs were angered by what they say are factual errors in the Legg letters delivered to all members.
One MP, Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy, said she had been asked to provide paperwork on a mortgage from before she entered the Commons.
