Employment of family members through the staffing Allowance : Seventh report of session 2007-08, report and appendices, together with formal Minutes

This report starts with the Committee's top priority - improving public confidence in the House of Commons by better systems of financial assurance. The House must introduce a robust system of scrutiny for parliamentary allowances. It then sets out the six main categories in which Members' work is supported by the taxpayer: employment of staff; office costs; communicating with constituents and the public; travel; overnight costs; redundancy. In each section, the report describes the current system, proposals for change, experience elsewhere, and the views and advice received. Each section ends with the opinion of the Committee and recommendations for the House to decide. Recommendations include: members should no longer be able to claim reimbursement for furniture and household goods or for capital improvements; the Additional Cost Allowance would be replaced by an overnight expenses allowance of £19,600 a year for accommodation; £30 a day subsistence allowance without receipts, up to a maximum of £4,600 every year; MPs would have to provide receipts for all other expenses from 1 April next year (at the moment they can claim for items up to £25 without receipts).

Audit and assurance of MPs Allowances

A parliamentary scandal that dominates the headlines. The resignation of major party figures. Commentators and citizens wondering if the British government—and the people’s faith in it—will survive. Before Brexit, another major crisis rocked the foundation of government in the country: the expenses scandal of 2009. Featuring interviews with the members of parliament, journalists, and officials close to the center of the turmoil, An Extraordinary Scandal tells the story of what really happened. Andrew Walker, the tax expert who oversaw the parliamentary expenses system, and Emma Crewe, a social scientist specializing in the institutions of parliament, bring fascinating perspectives—from both inside and outside parliament—to this account. Far from attempting provide a defense of any the parties involved, An Extraordinary Scandal explains how the parliament fell out of step with the electorate and became a victim of its own remote institutional logic, growing to become at odds with an increasingly open, meritocratic society. Charting the crisis from its 1990s origins—when Westminster began, too slowly, to respond to wider societal changes—to its aftermath in 2010, the authors examine how the scandal aggravated the developing crisis of trust between the British electorate and Westminster politicians that continues to this day. Their in-depth research reveals new insight into how the expenses scandal acted as a glimpse of what was to come, and they reveal where the scandal’s legacy can be traced in the new age of mistrust and outrage, in which politicians are often unfairly vulnerable to being charged in the court of public opinion by those they represent.

A contextualised study setting out the foundations of administrative law, with discussion of case law and legislation to show practical application.

This is the 4th report (HCP 208, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780215526298) from the Committee on Standards and Privileges, and looks at dual reporting and a revised guide to the rules. It follows an interim report, published in July 2008 (HCP 989, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215521972, "Ending dual reporting of donations"). An unintended consequence of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PGA 2000 c. 41, ISBN 9780105441007), was to require Members of the House of Commons to register certain interests both with the Registrar of Members' Interests and with the newly formed Electoral Commission. This has led to confusion and duplication, with Members' facing criticism or sanctions for registering an interest in one body but not the other. The report sets out how the Committee proposes the House of Commons should create the conditions in which dual reporting can be ended. A summary of the proposed changes to the Guide is set out and the implications for Members. The Annex to this report contains the full text of the revised Guide.