Call for MP expenses 'principles'

Tough expenses rules for MPs should be abandoned in favour of a set of “principles” and scrutiny by voters, the watchdog in charge of the regime has suggested.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said a looser system where politicians had more control of budgets and justified their spending publicly would be “simpler” and secure “value for money”.

The suggestion could help soothe MPs who are furious over the bureaucracy and cost-cutting imposed in the wake of the expenses scandal that rocked Westminster.

Last month David Cameron condemned the system as “anti-family” and warned that it had to change, while backbench MPs have been openly calling for the watchdog’s chairman Sir Ian Kennedy to quit.

However, there is bound to be concern at the idea of easing restrictions on MPs’ use of taxpayers’ money.

A public consultation published by Ipsa floated a number of improvements to the existing scheme, including allowing scores of outer London MPs to claim for running second homes again.

The document also suggests funding more travel for MPs’ families, increasing the £130-a-night limit on hotels, and allowing them to delete some personal information when filing claims.

But it also raised the prospect that a less rigid system could be introduced in future, with MPs “justifying their own decisions”. Instead of detailed rules, there would be “an expenses scheme based more on a set of principles which do not attempt to cover every eventuality”.

“It will also require an agreement by MPs that they will take greater responsibility for their claims within the general framework of principles and the agreed budgets. If this were to happen, Ipsa would be able to be less demanding. The taxpayer would still be able to obtain assurance that public money was being properly disbursed, since the majority of claims would continue to be published and after-the-event auditing would remain.”

Ipsa said it was determined to simplify the arrangements. “Such simplification will not represent any departure from the principles underlying the scheme,” the document said.