Mike Hancock MP's salary and whether he made claims for legal aid

Request

I would like to make a request please under the Freedom of Information Act.

I would like to find out what Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock's yearly salary is as an MP, and whether he is claiming legal aid for the High Court case which he is involved with.

If this is the case then I would like to know please how much he is claiming.

I believe this information would be in the public interest, given Mr Hancock's position of power.


Response

IPSA holds some of the information that you request.

IPSA publishes the salary paid to all MPs as part of our annual aggregate data publication.  You may view the aggregate data for 2010/11 and 2011/12 via this link to our publication website.  The data for 2012/13 is due to be published in the autumn.

The FOIA states that information that is accessible by other means is not subject to release.  Therefore, as the information you have requested is already available on our website, it is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the FOIA (information already accessible to applicant by other means).

Section 22(1) of the FOIA states that information intended for future publication is exempt from release.  We have considered whether the public interest in releasing the information outweighs the application of the exemption. It is our opinion that the public interest is best served by publishing a full list rather than on an ad hoc basis, as in this way a clear and complete set of information is published, avoiding any potential confusion. It is for this reason that the application of the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this stage.

Legal aid is not a business cost or expense and, therefore, does not fall under the responsibility of IPSA.  Information relating to legal aid may be available via this link to the Legal Aid Agency's website.

Ref:
F1314-083
Disclosure:
30 July 2013
Categories:
MPs' PAY AND PENSIONS
Exemptions Applied:
Section 21