Expenses on the straight and narrow August 2011
Posted date: 29 July 2011
MPs have avoided any further scandal over the submission of their expenses.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has reported that the new expenses regime is working effectively and MPs are being cautious over any claims.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was set up due to the expense scandal in 2009, where several MPs were found to be abusing the system and claiming for items that they were not entitled to get expenses for. It has since emerged, through criminal cases, that some were even fraudulent.
Since the introduction of IPSA the level of submissions has fallen by 15 per cent.
Despite the report finding that the system is preventing any illegitimate expenses from being processed, it did discover that there is increasing resentment from MPs over the complexity of the system.
The NAO has proposed that it is changed to a “risk-based” process, which would be better able to support MPs. This should help to cut costs and is justifiable due to the low level of rejected expenses.
Amyas Morse, Head of the NAO, commented: “To improve the present uneasy relationship between the Authority and many MPs, both sides should make greater efforts to find a common ground.”
- Issue:
- August 2011
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