Payments made to Members of the Panel of Chairs

IPSA holds the information that you request.

As you may already be aware, the House agreed in 2005 that Members of the Panel of Chairs should receive an additional salary.  The role of the Panel of Chairs members, in addition to their backbench work, is to chair Public Bill Committees, other general committees, debates in Westminster Hall and act as temporary chairs of Committees of the Whole House when and if required. The Panel of Chairs is a different group to Select Committee Chairs.

This additional salary, which is incremental depending on the length of service to the panel, has been administered by IPSA, alongside the payment of basic salaries, since we started operations in May 2010.

The total cost for members of the Panel of Chairs in each year since May 2010 is as follows:

• 2010/11: £189,338.52

  • The length of the 2010/11 financial year was 11 months due to our operations starting in May 2010

• 2011/12: £322,030,98

• 2012/13: £245,620.50   (April 2012 – November 2012)

The number of MPs serving on the panel in each year was:

• 2010/11: 39

• 2011/12: 36

• 2012/13: 36  (to date)

The Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (as amended) provides IPSA with the power to determine MPs’ pay, as well as any additional salary paid to members of the Panel of Chairs. IPSA is currently reviewing MPs’ pay arrangements (Reviewing MPs’ Pay and Pensions: A Consultation. October 2012).