List of expenses repaid by MPs

Request

I was wondering if there was a list of the repaid expenses by MPs that I could access?


Response

IPSA holds the information that you request.

IPSA publishes details of all claims for business costs and expenses on our dedicated publication website, which is available via the following link: http://www.parliamentary-standards.org.uk. The information also states whether each claim was paid in full, paid in part, not paid or repaid.

The most recent publication took place on 11 September 2014, which relates to claims made between April and May 2014. Using the search function, you can download details of all claims made each financial year, and then filter for those which were subsequently repaid.

The following instructions may assist you in filtering the information.

  1. Select ‘Search Function’ via the menu bar at the top of the page.

  2. Under ‘Select MP(s), Constituencies, Postcode or Region’, select an MP, or tick the box to select all MPs.

  3. Under ‘Select a year and, optionally, month(s)’, select a financial year, and on the ‘Status’ drop-down box, select ‘Repaid’.

  4. Under ‘Select category(s) of Business Cost or Expense’, tick the box to select all.

  5. Under ‘Select type(s) of Business Cost or Expense’, tick the box to select all.

  6. Under ‘Select type(s) of Journeys’, tick the box to select all.

  7. Click ‘Find’ to retrieve the results. These can then be exported to a spreadsheet via the link at the top right-hand corner of the results page.

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 accessible to applicant by other means).

Claims for expenses are published on our website in batches, around three months in arrears. As the most recent publication relates to claims made up until the end of May 2014, any repayments made following this date will be published in due course. You can view future publication dates on our website, via this link.

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 annually rather than individual requests 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.

Ref:
F1415-075
Disclosure:
29 October 2014
Categories:
GENERAL EXPENSES ENQUIRY
Exemptions Applied:
Section 21