Members’ pay and expenses – current rates and a review of developments since 2009

Following the passage of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, in the wake of the expenses scandal, the responsibility for determining a scheme for and reimbursing Members’ expenses was transferred to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). Its first MPs’ Expenses Scheme came into force on the day after the 2010 General Election.

In its review of Members’ allowances the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended that IPSA should also have responsibility for determining Members’ pay. Provisions to give this effect were passed in 2010 and the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 was amended. IPSA took on this responsibility in May 2011. In February 2012, it announced that the pay freeze agreed by Members in March 2011 would continue for a further year and that it would review how Members should be remunerated. Its review was launched in May 2012.