- Members' Expenses Committee
-
The Members' Expenses Committee, until July 2011 called the Members' Allowances Committee, is a select committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. The committee advises the Members Estimates Committee and the Leader of the House of Commons on any potential developments in the allowances system for members of the Commons.
The committee was established on 22 January 2009 as one of several motions put forward by the government attempting to deal with the issue of MPs' expenses which were due to be released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The committee was also asked to propose an interim system of expenses and allowances for MPs shortly after the MPs' expenses scandal broke in May 2009.[1]
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was created in answer to the expenses scandal, and the Speaker's Committee on IPSA to oversee it. As a result, the committee lay dormant from the May 2011 general election until July 2011. The committee was renamed,[2] with the expectation of new members being appointed, amid marked dissatisfaction with the expenses scheme developed by IPSA. Its task was to report back to the House on the operations of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (which established IPSA) with due consideration to the following:[3]
- value for money for taxpayers
- accountability
- public confidence in Parliament
- the ability of members to fulfill their duties effectively
- fairness for less well-off members and those with families
- whether members are deterred from submitting legitimate claims
Membership
As of 18 July 2011, the members of the committee are as follows:
Member Party Constituency Adam Afriyie MP (Chair Conservative Windsor Guto Bebb MP Conservative Aberconwy Cathy Jamieson MP Labour Co-op Kilmarnock and Loudoun Edward Leigh MP Conservative Gainsborough Priti Patel MP Conservative Witham Nick Raynsford MP Labour Greenwich and Woolwich Joan Walley MP Labour Stoke-on-Trent North Stephen Williams MP Liberal Democrats Bristol West Source: Members' Expenses Committee
References
- ^ Committee's consideration of Members' allowances
- ^ Vote and Proceedings, House of Commons, 7 July 2011.
- ^ Vote and Proceedings, House of Commons, 12 May 2011.
See also
Current British parliamentary committees Commons - Departmental: Business, Innovation and Skills · Communities and Local Government · Culture, Media and Sport · Defence · Education · Energy and Climate Change · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Foreign Affairs · Health · Home Affairs · International Development · Justice · Northern Ireland Affairs · Political and Constitutional Reform · Science and Technology · Scottish Affairs · Transport · Treasury · Welsh Affairs · Work and Pensions
- Topical: Arms Export Controls · Environmental Audit · European Scrutiny · Public Accounts · Public Administration · Regulatory Reform · Statutory Instruments
- General: Panel of Chairs · Public bill committee · Delegated Legislation Committees · European Committees · Northern Ireland Grand Committee · Regional Affairs Committee · Scottish Grand Committee · Welsh Grand Committee
- Internal: Administration · Finance and Services · Backbench Business · Liaison · Members' Expenses · Procedure · Selection · Standards and Privileges · Works of Art
Lords - Topical: Communications · Constitution · Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform · Economic Affairs · European Union · Merits of Statutory Instruments · Science and Technology
- Private business: Hybrid Instruments · Standing Orders
- Internal: House · Liaison Committee · Privileges and Conduct · Procedure · Selection
- Domestic: Administration and Works · Information · Refreshment · Works of Art
Joint - Select: Consolidation, &c., Bills · Human Rights · National Security Strategy · Statutory Instruments · Tax Law Rewrite Bills
- Other: Security
Statutory - Commons: House of Commons Commission (Administration Estimate Audit · Members Estimate · Members Estimate Audit) · Public Accounts Commission · Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission · Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
- Joint: Ecclesiastical Committee · Intelligence and Security
Categories:- Committees of the British House of Commons
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
