Fury over MPs’ £10K stay-home expenses

MOVES to offer MPs an extra £10,000 to help them work from home during the coronavirus pandemic were condemned as an ‘outrageous waste of public money’ yesterday.

The sum can be used to buy equipment such as laptops and printers for MPs and their staff, or to cover additional domestic electricity, heating and phone bills.

In addition the monthly credit limit on MPs’ payment cards has been increased to £10,000 and rules on claiming expenses have been relaxed.

But critics warned that the generous extra allowance will enrage their hardpressed constituents, many of whom are facing losing their jobs entirely.

Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, questioned the decision to introduce the extra allowance by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

‘It’s a surprising decision and it would be interesting to hear how they arrived at this generous figure,’ he said. ‘Given the sacrifices most people in this country are making at the moment, it seems odd to be giving additional public money to members of Parliament.

‘I would’ve thought they had enough in their existing resources. I think the public will be very puzzled as to what looks like privileged treatment.’

Health commentator Roy Lilley, a former chairman of an NHS trust, added: ‘This is an outrageous waste of public money and no right-minded MP with a conscience should consider putting £10,000 in their back pocket.

‘They are cosseted, looked after and their needs are met. The rest of the country are having to do it all themselves. At a time when we’re all supposed to be in this together, this is a disgusting waste of public money.’

James Roberts, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘While it’s reasonable for MPs’ staff to have access to the equipment they need to work from home during this crisis, politicians should take care to use the cash properly and avoid it being seen as a personal equipment slush fund.’

However, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden defended the extra allowance and emphasised that the decision was made by Ipsa independently of the Government.

He told LBC radio: ‘The way you say it gives the impression it’s £10,000 coming into my pocket. Ipsa make disseminations about the resources needed to support our constituencies at a time when we are having huge amounts of casework.

‘I’ve certainly got a vast increase in the number of people contacting me with concerns around coronavirus.’

Tory MP Ben Bradley tweeted: ‘This is a notional budget, most of which will never be spent, to allow staff to continue to work during the Covid crisis. It is NOT cash for MPs.’

A source said they did not expect that MPs would use all of the budget they were being offered. But they added that MPs require industrialscale printers to produce mailshots and many are facing a huge increase in constituency work.

MPs have an office costs budget which supports the expense of having a physical office in their constituency. It goes on heating bills, furniture, stationery and other costs. There is a separate staffing budget.

The extra money, which comes on top of the existing office budget of about £26,000 a year per MP, will be available until March next year.

Ipsa, the parliamentary expenses regulator, has also relaxed rules on the evidence MPs must provide and suspended the 90-day window for claims.

The credit limit on MPs’ payment cards has been increased to £10,000, and they can now spend up to £5,000 in a single transaction.

One MP said he expected that the money would mostly be used to assist staff as the majority of politicians already have home offices. However, there is nothing in the rules to prevent MPs claiming it for themselves.

In a letter to MPs, Richard Lloyd, the interim chairman of Ipsa, wrote: ‘We have agreed a series of immediate measures that we hope will provide you with the resources and flexibility to concentrate on your parliamentary duties and support your staff.’

Ipsa was created in response to the parliamentary expenses row of 2009. Following the scandal, rules were introduced to limit MPs’ claims including on home refurbishments.

Last year, however, a newspaper investigation revealed that MPs claimed 22 per cent more in expenses than they did in 2009.

An Ipsa spokesman said: ‘Most MPs’ staff moved at very short notice from being based in Westminster, or in a constituency office, to working from home. Many staff were not set up for home working, nor for supporting constituents remotely.

‘This additional funding will help them make that transition.’

Latest coronavirus video news, views and expert advice at mailplus.co.uk/coronavirus