Pay error leaves MPs out of pocket
By politics.co.uk staff
Over half of MPs did not receive their full pay packet due to administrative errors, it has emerged.
The BBC reported more than 400 MPs received £5,358.54 rather than £5,478.17 in May, leaving them underpaid by £119.63.
The shortfall is more bad news for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, the expenses watchdog which is also responsible for administering MPs’ pay.
“We’ve already put in place the means to make up the difference,” a spokesman said.
“We’ve paid every MP even when they haven’t given us their bank details and in some cases that meant hand delivering cheques.”
Ipsa has been beset by difficulties since new MPs began arriving in parliament. Criticism of the new rules, including the £110,000 annual staffing budget which some MPs have said is not large enough, have undermined confidence in its work.
The situation worsened at the weekend when it emerged its director of operations, Nigel Gooding, had rejected a three-month extension to his contract “for the sake of my health and my sanity”.
