Conduct of Ed Balls and
Yvette Cooper
1. We have received a memorandum from the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards on the outcome of his investigation
of a complaint against Ed Balls, the Member for Normanton, and
Yvette Cooper, the Member for Pontefract and Castleford, by Mr
Malcolm Moss, the Member for North East Cambridgeshire. The Commissioner's
report is reproduced at Appendix 1.
2. We have shown Mr Balls and Ms Cooper copies
of the Commissioner's report. Their observations are reproduced
at Appendix 2. In accordance with our usual practice, we are publishing
the Commissioner's report and the related papers.
3. The basis of the complaint was that Mr Balls
and Ms Cooper may each have incorrectly identified their main
home for the purpose of claims against the Additional Costs Allowance
(ACA) for the costs of their second home. The Commissioner
has dismissed the complaint, having concluded in the light of
his investigation that "Ms Cooper and Mr Balls made reasonable
decisions on the basis of their own circumstances in declaring
their property in Castleford to be their main home".[1]
He has nonetheless reported to us on this complaint, commenting
"The issue turns on the interpretation of the rules in the
Green Book about the identification of a Member's main home.
In view of the wider implications for the application of these
rules, I have thought it right to put my conclusions to the Committee.
I have also taken the opportunity to address some wider issues
which are not directly part of the complaint".[2]
4. In the light of his investigation of this
complaint, the Commissioner has endorsed the principle set out
in the Green Book as the primary test for determining a Member's
main residence for ACA purposes, namely that "if you have
more than one home, your main home will normally be the one where
you spend more nights than any other".[3]
He comments "As long as this is not taken as a rigid rule
… that seems to me to be an acceptable guide".[4]
We agree with the Commissioner in this conclusion.
5. The Commissioner has also commented on other
aspects of the criteria for identifying a Member's main home in
cases where the normal test may not be considered appropriate,[5]
and on the application of the ACA to Members who share a secondary
home.[6] We shall consider
the Commissioner's observations on these matters carefully and,
in order not to delay our report on the complaint, we shall report
separately on them.
1 Appendix 1, paragraph 87. Back
2
Ibid, paragraph 74. Back
3
Green Book, paragraph. 3.9.1 (see Appendix 1, paragraph 9). Back
4
Appendix 1, paragraph 90. Back
5
Ibid, paragraphs 91-92. Back
6
Ibid, paragraphs 93-95. Back
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