MPs to debate ‘expenses watchdog’ bill
By Alex Stevenson
MPs are beginning three days of intensive scrutiny of the parliamentary standards bill today.
The legislation will set up an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority taking over the role of the Fees Office in approving expenses claims.
It will create a new watchdog, the commissioner for parliamentary investigations, which will have the power to conduct probes and report to the IPSA.
And it will create a criminal offence for MPs to knowingly make a false claim for an allowance, fail without reasonable excuse to register a relevant interest and contravene without reasonable excuse the rules on paid advocacy.
The government plans to rush the bill through the Commons by the middle of this week. It has received support from opposition parties who have contributed to its drafting process, as politicians seek to draw a line under the damaging expenses furore of recent weeks.
Today will see the bill’s second reading, before it receives detailed line-by-line scrutiny tomorrow and on Wednesday in the committee of the whole House on the floor of the Commons.
Wednesday will also see its remaining stages completed, after which it will be sent to the Lords for consideration by peers.
They will not be affected by the measures, as many members of the Lords had originally feared. The upper House’s historic powers of self-regulation will be curbed “as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows”, however.
Leader of the House Harriet Harman told MPs last week the government wanted the bill to become law by the time the House rises for the summer recess on July 21st.
“This bill will ensure that accountability and transparency are placed at the heart of the new system,” justice secretary Jack Straw said last week.
“This is vital if we are to restore the public’s trust in MPs, politics and parliament.”
The bill follows a series of interim changes made by the Commons which came into force from May 19th.
Claims for furniture, ‘flipping’ the main home designation and MPs who are couples’ claims for two second homes have all been banned.
MPs will also now have to provide receipts for every claim, while monthly rent or mortgage payments have been capped at £1,250.
Another change agreed to on April 30th is expected to affect Conservative MPs especially.
Last week Ms Harman told the Commons: “The public are entitled to know who is making payments to their MP, how much is being paid and what they are doing for that payment.
“This will mean that for the first time the public will be able to see all the payments that are made to members. The public want to know who, other than them, is paying their MP.”
Information about pay transparency will be published for the first time on Wednesday.
