Use and uptake of interest free loans

IPSA holds the information you requested.

Members of Parliament are permitted, under the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses (‘the Scheme’), to apply to IPSA for a loan to cover any deposit payable at the commencement of a tenancy for office and/or home accommodation.

Applications for loans must be submitted by the MP and accompanied by a rental agreement for IPSA to approve. Details of these loans, including the amounts outstanding, are published on our website as part of our regular Publication Policy.

In relation to the specific questions you have asked, I will take each in turn.

1. What are the terms & conditions of these loans?

The Scheme described above sets out eligibility criteria for deposit loans. In addition to this, please find attached a copy of the property rental form terms and conditions.

2. How many MPs have taken out an Interest-free-loan in the past 3 year, by each year?

This information is available on our website. To access this information, please visit our website.

In the top right-hand corner, select the financial year you are interested in. Select ‘Other data’ from the drop-down menu. Click Download. Once you have downloaded the spreadsheet, the information relating to office and/or home accommodation deposit loans, including repayments is available in columns T through W.

3. What is the current total value of the outstanding loans?

This information can be obtained by following the steps at 2 above.

4. What was the total amount of loans taken out for the current & past 3 years, by each year?

This information can be obtained by following the steps at 2 above.

5. What are the tax arrangements of these loans?

No interest is charged on any deposit loans, although where the total amount borrowed exceeds £10,000, then in accordance with HMRC rules, there may be tax implications.

6. What is the maximum loan value that can be borrowed? how many at this value have been taken out for the past three years.

The amount that may be borrowed will depend on the amount required to secure an office or accommodation deposit loan. For accommodation deposit loans, the maximum limit is set at £4,000. These must be repaid to IPSA in full at the end of the tenancy or where an MP loses their seat following a general election.

The specific terms relating to amounts that can be borrowed are set out at paragraph 16 of the attached property rental terms and conditions.

This concludes our response to your request.