MPs 'named and shamed' for refusing to clear expenses debt

MPs question accuracy of standards authority's list, which names those who have refused to clear their expenses debts.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has named and shamed 26 MPs it claims have refused to pay back their expenses debts, forcing them to be written off.

IPSA said that it had repeatedly asked the current and former MPs to settle their outstanding sums, worth up to £500, and warned them they faced being named publicly if they didn’t pay up.

MPs are all issued with credit cards which they can use for parliamentary business. IPSA automatically pays off the card balances, before making checks on exactly what the card was used for. Should an MP use the card for spending that does not qualify as parliamentary business, they will need to hand the money back.

Ministers named

Three ministers were named by IPSA: Tobias Ellwood, Edward Timpson and Caroline Dinenage.

According to IPSA, Dinenage, the minister for equalities, used the card to settle her constituency office’s £13.50 telephone bill, which is an ineligible claim. Ellwood, a minister at the foreign office, owed £26.50 for parking, train fares, food and drink.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “The PM’s view is that any minister who owes money should pay it back.”

Disputed list

However, since the publication of the list, IPSA said Dinenage has provided further evidence which meant there was no money to be repaid, while Ellwood has settled his bill. Other MPs named have also queried the list, claiming that their debts had been settled or are overstated.

Here is the original list published by IPSA, and how much each MP owed. Those with an asterisk stepped down or lost their seat in the General Election.

MP	Seat/party	Amount owed
Joe Benton*	Bootle, Labour	£309.15
Daniel Poulter	Central Suffolk & North Ipswich, Conservative	£229.62
Stephen Williams*	Bristol West, Liberal Democrat	£209.18
Sian James*	Swansea East, Labour	£193
Guy Opperman	Hexham, Conservative	£161.09
Edward Timpson	Crewe & Nantwich, Conservative	£127.70
Chris Skidmore	Kingswood, Conservative	£125
Charles Hendry*	Wealden, Conservative	£87.60
Clive Efford	Eltham, Labour	£79.20
Barry Gardiner	Brent North, Labour	£77.30
Julie Hilling	Bolton West, Labour	£75.30
Frank Roy*	Motherwell & Wishaw, Labour	£63.37
Stephen Barclay	North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative	£62.75
Peter Bone	Wellingborough, Conservative	£40.17
Kahlid Mahmood	Birmingham Perry Barr, Labour	£36
David Mowat	Warrington South, Conservative	£35
Paul Farrelly	Newcastle-under-Lyme, Labour	£28
Laurence Robertson	Tewkesbury, Conservative	£27
Michael Meacher	Oldham West & Royton, Labour	£27
Stephen McCabe	Birmingham Selly Oak, Labour	£27
Tobias Ellwood	Bournemouth East, Conservative	£26.50
Caroline Dinenage	Gosport, Conservative	£13.50
Ian Mearns	Gateshead, Labour	£10
Tim Yeo*	South Suffolk, Conservative	£10
Frank Dobson*	Holborn & St Pancras, Labour	£7.50
Stewart Jackson	Peterborough, Conservative	£7.50

Total expenses

IPSA revealed that the total bill for MPs’ expenses and costs rose by £1.7 million in 2014/15 to almost £106 million. Staffing costs rose £2.2 million over the year, while travel and subsistence costs rose slightly too.

However office costs and spending on accommodation fell.

Marcial Boo, chief executive of IPSA, said: "Our regular publications include every single penny claimed by MPs, so that taxpayers and voters can see for themselves how their money is spent and gain assurance that IPSA is scrutinising MPs' expenditure on their behalf."

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