Information relating to the Constituency Office of Brendan O’Hara MP

Request

  1. On which date did IPSA cease paying for this office rental?

  2. Are all costs of the office including utilities, telephones, stationary, PCs and other IT equipment being paid for by the SNP and not IPSA?

  3. On what date was the responsibility for payment of all bills for the above transferred from IPSA to the SNP?

  4. To your knowledge has all IPSA funded IT equipment etc been removed from the office?

  5. Has Brendan O’Hara stated when he intends transferring this asset back to an IPSA supported Constituency office?

Response

IPSA holds some of the information you have requested.

  1. The MP in question has made a repayment to IPSA to cover costs related to his General Election rent. This covers the period from 9 October 2019 – 14 December 2019.

  2. During an election period, MPs may continue to use IPSA-funded resources in the normal pay for their parliamentary functions. MPs are not allowed to use IPSA funds for campaigning purposes. This means that if an MP use their office for campaigning activities, they may only claim from IPSA the proportion of the rent and utilities which relate to their parliamentary work. Any costs claimed by an MP or any campaigning costs repayable to IPSA will be published in line with our publication policy. Claims processed between November and December 2019 are due to be published on the 14 May 2020.

  3. MPs are responsible for all costs related to a constituency office and may only claim for these costs through IPSA if they are within the Scheme of MPs’ Business Costs and Expenses.

  4. This information is not held by IPSA. MPs may use IPSA-funded IT equipment for campaigning activities if they pay a fee of £135 to IPSA.

  5. This information is not held by IPSA. Any contract for a constituency office is between an MP and their landlord.

Section 22

Some of the information you have requested under (2) above will be published as part of our publication schedule.

The Freedom of Information Act states that information that is intended for future publication is not subject to release. Therefore, as the information you have requested is will be made available on our website, it is exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the Act (information accessible to applicant by other means).

Ref:
CAS-159219
Disclosure:
21 February 2020
Categories:
IPSA - POLICYMPs' OFFICE COSTS
Exemptions Applied:
Section 22