New rules on second jobs come into force
By Ian Dunt
New rules governing MPs’ secondary sources of income have come into force today which vastly expand the information parliamentarians have to give the authorities.
Under the rules, MPs will have to declare the exact amount they receive from their secondary sources of income, the amount of hours they worked for that income and the name and address of the person or organisation paying them, unless it would breach privacy rules.
The change is a result of a vote in the Commons last April, before the expenses scandal began to dominate the British political landscape.
Today, parliament will debate whether to make it a criminal offence to fail to declare a financial interest as the parliamentary standards bill makes its way through the Commons.
There are concerns among some MPs that the rules will discourage politicians from conducting activities which keep them up to date with life ‘in the real world’.
But the government believes being an MP is a full-time job, while many commentators question the priorities of those who are paid more by outside sources than they are representing their constituents.
“I believe that the public are entitled to know the source of work for payments to an individual MP, how much is being paid, and what the MP is undertaking for that payment,” Harriet Harman, leader of the House, said.
“It means that any payment to an MP for services, whether in cash or in kind, will have to be registered.
“For the first time, the public will be able to see all the details.
“The public want to know who, other than they as taxpayers, is paying an MP.”
Tory leader David Cameron has already convinced his frontbench team to cast aside their second jobs by December.
