Revised Green Book and audit of Members' allowances - Members Estimate Committee Contents



ANNEX 2: LIST OF CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS REQUIRED TO EXISTING RESOLUTIONS GOVERNING ALLOWANCES

Note: References to "Concordance" are to the Concordance of Resolutions, published as HC 950-II and ordered to be printed on 27 February 2006.

GENERAL

The principles are new.

The titles of all allowances change.

The new Green Book includes work with All-party Parliamentary Groups among parliamentary duties (though it specifically forbids Members from using Staffing Expenditure for persons employed wholly or substantially to work for All-party Parliamentary Groups or using Travel Expenditure for travel with All-party Groups).

Civil partners to be included in all references to spouses.

References to be standardised to "main home", not "main residence" or "ordinary residence" etc.

References to "Department of Finance and Administration" to become "Department of Resources"; to "Inland Revenue" to become "HM Revenue and Customs".

There should be a general provision that expenditure for which reimbursement is claimed under the provisions of the Green Book should be wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the performance of a Member's parliamentary duties (to clarify that it is deductible from income for tax purposes). This does not apply to Winding-up Allowance on dissolution or to PAAE to which are excluded from tax under sections 291 and 292 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

PAAE/ACA

Concordance para 3.1: London area to become any place within 20 miles of Westminster, not just Inner London.

New limit of 10% of PAAE for furnishings to be introduced.

New flat rate subsistence allowance of £25 per night away from main home on parliamentary business to be introduced.

Provision in 3 July 2008 Resolution that "any allowance for overnight costs arising from Parliamentary duties in London may not be used for accommodation expenses in respect of a residence designated by an hon Member as his main residence for tax purposes" not included in new Green Book.

LONDON SUPPLEMENT/LONDON COSTS ALLOWANCE

Concordance para 4.1 (b) no longer to apply.

Concordance para 4.3 to be altered so that any Member can claim LCA instead of PAAE.

IEP/AOE

New Green Book provisions are more specific than the general provision of the Resolution set out in the Concordance.

STAFFING ALLOWANCE/STAFFING EXPENDITURE

Concordance para 6.2—the new Green Book provides that the Advisory Panel on Members' Allowances are now to approve job descriptions and standard contracts.

Concordance para 6.4—"temporary secretarial or research assistance" to be renamed "temporary staffing expenditure" and to be available in a wider range of circumstances (eg maternity leave).

TRAVEL ENTITLEMENTS/TRAVEL EXPENDITURE

Concordance paras 7.3—new Green Book makes no mention of higher and lower mileage rates.

Concordance para 7.4—new Green Book has no reference to scooters.

Concordance para 7.6—new Green Book refers to "reasonable" parking; the "wholly, necessarily and exclusively" reference is omitted.

Concordance para 7.8—new country limits are member states of the Council of Europe, and some of the detail is omitted.

Concordance para 7.10—the new Green Book amends 12 return journeys to become 24 single journeys.

Concordance para 7.11—the new Green Book amends 15 return journeys to become 30 single journeys.

Concordance para 7.14—the new Green Book includes provision for older disabled children.

Cost of overnight accommodation where a journey has had to be broken due to unforeseen circumstances to be claimable as Travel Expenditure.

COMMUNICATIONS ALLOWANCE

The MEC report (HC 578-I) of June 2008 proposed a number of rules that the House agreed should come into force from 1 April 2009. The new Green Book does not include the words "data from local surveys must not be transferred to national campaigns or used for local party campaigning" because this would not be permissible under the Part I principles.



 
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Prepared 15 January 2009