MPs may have to pay back second home profits
By politics.co.uk staff
MPs may be forced to pay back the profit they made from their second home back to the public purse, according to the man responsible for implementing the new allowances system.
In an interview with the Times, Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the newly-formed Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), said Revenue and Customs should start assessing such gains if it has the power to do so.
If it does not, parliament should give it the power before the general election, he went on.
“This is a central question for me,” he said.
“Gains made in that way should not be retained. The mechanism for doing it is the only question we have to decide.”
Sir Ian is responsible for deciding which of Sir Christopher Kelly’s recommendations into reform of the system are taken up. He is expected to give MPs details of the final arrangements sometime in March.
“We want a new scheme which the public can look on with some confidence and MPs can understand and work within,” he said.
“It should be fair, good value for money and it should be very difficult to abuse.
“It’s the first step, if you like, on the road to the independent regulation of parliament.”
Sir Ian is expected to ban MPs from claiming mortgages or employing family members, and to prevent overnight expenses within zone six of the London Underground map.
Ipsa’s consultation on MPs’ expenses initially attracted criticism for refusing to accept Sir Christopher’s proposals wholesale.
It has now closed after receiving over 2,500 responses, according to reports.
