Details of expense claims relating to childcare

IPSA holds the information that you request.

The Scheme of MPs’ Business Costs and Expenses sets out the rules for what MPs can claim from IPSA in support of their parliamentary functions.

Under the Scheme rules, MPs may claim for the cost of travel by their dependants between London and their constituency. If needed, they can also claim for travel costs for a carer to accompany the dependants while travelling. These provisions are intended to support MPs with caring responsibilities while recognising that MPs are required to work from two permanent locations (their constituency and Westminster).

The cost of childcare services does not fall within the rules of the Scheme.

All claims made by MPs are published on IPSA’s website on a bi-monthly cycle, in line with our Publication Policy. You can view published claims for individual MPs by searching by name.

Alternatively, you can download all claims made by all MPs in a financial year.

There is some additional information concerning childcare claims in the IPSA Bulletin sent to MPs which includes information concerning rules for expenses relating to the Saturday sitting of Parliament. The bulletin is published on our website.

Section 21

The Freedom of Information Act 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 Act (information accessible to applicant by other means).

Section 22

Information relating to claims for the remainder of 2019 will be published in accordance with our publication schedule. Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act exempts this information from disclosure. This is because the information is intended for publication at a future date.

This concludes our response to your request.