MPs spend 'one working day a month' to claim expenses

One in four MPs or a member of their staff spends at least an entire working day each month claiming expenses, according to an official survey.

The Parliamentary standards watchdog IPSA found that 24 per cent of MPs, or staff members appointed to manage business costs, took more than 10 hours a month to make claims.

Ten per cent of MPs or their staff managed to spend just two hours a month on expenses, but the majority required significantly more time, according to the IPSA survey, which also found that 32 per cent of MPs rated the watchdog’s service as poor or very poor.

However 46 per cent of MPs said that IPSA’s service had been “very good” or “good”, an improvement on last year.

On expenses, 16 per cent of MPs or their staff took between two and four hours a month to make claims, 13 per cent took between four and six hours, and eight per cent took between six and eight hours.

Oddly, 21 per cent of MPs or staff members said that the answer was either “not quantifiable” or did not apply to them.

Overall 44 MPs, 113 ‘MP proxies’ – staff members appointed to cover business costs and expenses – and 155 non-proxy members of staff responded to the survey.