Information to be released on senior MPs second homes
MPs have been ordered to publish a more detailed breakdown of their expenses in the interests of freedom of information.
The Information Tribunal has ordered information on MPs’ second-home expenses be released within 28 days.
The order, which applies to 14 named MPs including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, follows a three-year effort by freedom of information campaigners.
In making its ruling the tribunal said the current additional costs allowance (ACA) was “deeply unsatisfactory” and the “laxity of rules” was “very different” to the private sector.
Overall the current system suffers from an “acute” shortfall in transparency, the tribunal said.
MPs can claim nearly £23,000 a year for the costs of staying overnight away from their main home.
Amid concerns that the system is open to abuse, there have been calls to scrap the second-home allowance and pay MPs a more transparent, higher salary.
Criticisms have also been levied at the system which allows MPs to claim up to £250 without receipts and a further £400 a month for food.
The tribunal said the information given to MPs on acceptable claims was “incomplete” but noted fuller guidance could be problematic “lest the maximum allowable prices become the going rate”.
But it recommended MPs need access to a “coherent and comprehensive statement of their entitlements”.
It noted: “The laxity of and lack of clarity in the rules for ACA is redolent of a culture very different from that which exists in the commercial sphere or in most other public sector organisations today.”
The tribunal said it was no longer acceptable in modern conditions for MPs to self-certify, concluding: “In our judgment these features, coupled with the very limited nature of the checks, constitute a recipe for confusion, inconsistency and the risk of misuse.”
House of Commons leaders have resisted further disclosure, arguing it compromises MPs’ privacy.
The tribunal agreed sensitive personal data, including health and financial matters, should not be disclosed.
Campaigner Heather Brooke, who brought the legal challenge, told reporters: “This ruling will wrest control from the old boys’ club and put it back where it belongs – with the constituents.
“What’s disappointing is that it took three years of concerted effort to counter the relentless opposition from the House of Commons commission and speaker Michael Martin, who used taxpayer money throughout to block the very information needed for an informed electorate.
“By their secrecy, these officials have severely damaged public trust in parliament.”
