Request about £10k increase to MPs' office costs budget

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to respectfully request the following information:

i) Can you please confirm the date the increase of £10,000 to each MP’s office costs budget was implemented.

ii) Can you please confirm how many MP's have accepted this increase.

iii) Can you please confirm the breakdown by political parties of how many MP's have accepted this increase.

iv) Can you please confirm how many MP's have refused this increase.

v) Can you please confirm the breakdown by political parties of how many MP's have refused this increase.

Response

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request, but it is subject to a Refusal Notice under section 21 of the FOIA. This exemption applies where information reasonably accessible by other means. The information you have requested can be found on our website.

The response to a previous request, CAS-169909, provides answers to your points i), ii), iv). This can be found by searching for the reference number in the FOI Disclosure Log.

The remaining information can be found in the annual publication of MPs’ claims for business costs. Once downloaded you can filter the data by category to see the budget to which claims were made and the name of the MP. Information in the public domain will enable you to determine the political party.

Ref:
RFI-202105-06
Disclosure:
1 June 2021
Categories:
MPs' OFFICE COSTSCOVID-19
Exemptions Applied:
Section 21