MPs' expenses watchdog will cost £6.5m and employ 80 staff

Published 11th Feb 2010

The new anti-sleaze body set up in the wake of the MPs expenses scandal will cost more than six times the amount MPs have been ordered to repay, it is reported.


The annual budget for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) will be £6.5m and will cover the cost of recruiting some 80 staff, according to figures reported by the BBC.

In November there was fury when it emerged Sir Ian Kennedy, the chair of the new body, will earn more than MPs themselves, being paid up to £100,000.

He will receive £700 a day for an expected three day week up to the £100,000 maximum.

MPs have been ordered to repay £1.12m after a seven-month investigation by Sir Thomas Legg into claims dating back to 2004 that were exposed by the Daily Telegraph.

However, the Legg report cost £1.16m to compile, including a reported £142,000 for Sir Thomas himself.

Another inquiry by the standards watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly, which has provided ideas for the new Ipsa regime, is reported to have cost £400,000.

Proposals by that inquiry include banning MPs for claiming towards mortgage payments on second homes and from employing relatives.

The new Ipsa system is expected to be in place at the start of the next parliament.

Source: ' Telegraph '

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