Amounts due to be repaid by departing MPs

You later clarified that you were seeking information relating to MPs who departed in the 2015 General Election.

IPSA holds the information that you request.

As you will understand, the information you have requested changes on a regular basis, and is subject to continuous amendments as transactions and claims are reviewed, and further supporting documentation is provided[1]. The figures attached at Annex A represent a snapshot of the information held on 22 May 2015, which is when the information was extracted from our systems. Alongside these figures, we have also provided the ‘balance’ at the time of responding, on 1 June 2015.

An MP may be required to repay an amount to IPSA for many different reasons, and the fact that an amount is required to be repaid does not, in itself, indicate any misuse of the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses (‘the Scheme’).

Further, in many instances, payments are made directly to third-parties (such as landlords) on behalf of an MP. Although the MP will not have been the recipient of such payments, MPs are ultimately responsible for all amounts paid under the Scheme. Amounts which are required to be repaid by the third-party will therefore be listed alongside the relevant MP’s name.

[1] Claims made on payment cards require reconciling; purchases are made on the card by the MP and supporting documentation must then be supplied to IPSA by the end of the month. Where supporting documentation is not received, the claim is marked as requiring repayment. Where supporting documentation can be provided, the amount is not required to be repaid by the MP.

Annex A

[1] Claims made on payment cards require reconciling; purchases are made on the card by the MP and supporting documentation must then be supplied to IPSA by the end of the month. Where supporting documentation is not received, the claim is marked as requiring repayment. Where supporting documentation can be provided, the amount is not required to be repaid by the MP.