Request for information about coronavirus staffing budget

Request

Under the previsions of the Freedom of Information act I would like to request the following information:

  • Total Number of MP’s who have used the coronavirus staffing budget. Please include a breakdown between parties of the MP’s and a breakdown whether they are front or back bench.

  • The Average amount of the coronavirus staffing budget used by all MPs. Please can I also have this information broken down by each party and also within this a breakdown between front bench and back bench members.

  • The average amount of overtime claimed per person by MP’s staff across the house, with a breakdown between parties and a breakdown within this between front bench and back bench MPs.


Response

I can confirm that we hold some information relevant to your request.

At the start of the lockdown in March 2020, IPSA made the decision to increase MPs’ 2020-21 office costs’ budget to support the move to homeworking for their staff members. For the 2020-21 financial year, MPs could also request additional staff funding of up to £18,270 for London MPs or £16,480 for non-London MPs. Further additional staffing funding is available for 2021-22; £27,680 for London MPs and £24,970 for non-London MPs. The difference for this financial year is that the funding is automatically made available to all MPs, rather than them having to request it.

You asked for the number of MPs who have used the coronavirus staffing funding. IPSA publishes the total amount spent on staffing payroll costs by each MP once a year, as well as information on individual claims made from the staffing budget on a bimonthly basis. This information is therefore subject to a Refusal Notice under sections 21 and 22(1) of FOIA.

Section 21

This exemption applies where information is reasonably accessible by other means. The most recent published information can be found on our website.

Section 22(1)

This applies where information is intended for future publication. This is a qualified exemption and requires us to consider the public interest test. MPs have a certain amount of time in which to submit their claims, and this period was extended due to the pandemic. Submitted claims then undergo a period of validation and reconciliation before being published. While we may hold some information on claims from the budgets for the current financial year, these will be incomplete and also subject to validation and reconciliation.

In the light of the validation and reconciliation procedure and because IPSA already has a schedule of routinely publishing this information, I find that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

In terms of the average number of hours claimed, we are providing you with some information for the previous financial year which should enable you to calculate what you need; the same information for the current financial year is not held.

MeasureValue
Number of MPs184
Number of individual members of MPs' staff418
Total overtime hours claimed736219

You asked for a breakdown by political party and front and backbench MPs and I can confirm that IPSA does not hold this information. You would have to check the information which is published against other information in the public domain as this information is not held

Ref:
RFI-202103-36
Disclosure:
14 June 2021
Categories:
COVID-19MPs' STAFFINGMPs' OFFICE COSTS
Exemptions Applied:
Section 21, Section 22