4. Letter to Mr Jim Fitzpatrick MP
from the Commissioner, 1 October 2009
I would welcome your help on a complaint I have received
from Mr Peter Golds about your use of pre-paid envelopes and perhaps
House of Commons stationery to invite some of your constituents
to a coffee morning.
I enclose a copy of the complainant's letter of 3
September (which has only just reached me) with its enclosures,
including a copy of your letter of July 2009 to a constituent
and a copy of a second class pre-paid House of Commons envelope
in which the complainant said it was sent.
I have not accepted that part of the complaint which
relates to your use of any Parliamentary resources for this communication
since the Communications Expenditure budget exists to enable Members
to communicate proactively with their constituents as long as
the communication does not include party political material. In
essence, therefore, the complaint which I shall be inquiring into
is that you have used pre-paid House of Commons envelopes to send
unsolicited correspondence to some of your constituents, and may
have drawn on your allowance of original House stationery for
the paper.
Paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members provides
as follows:
"Members shall at all times ensure that their
use of expenses, allowances, facilities and services provided
from the public purse is strictly in accordance with the rules
laid down on these matters, and that they observe any limits placed
by the House on the use of such expenses, allowances, facilities
and services."
The principles underlying the parliamentary allowances
are set out in the July 2009 Green Book. These include the following:
"Claims should be above reproach and must
reflect actual usage of the resources being claimed.
…
Individual Members take personal responsibility
for all expenses incurred, for making claims and for keeping records,
even if the administration of claims is delegated by them to others."
Paragraph 2.6.1 of the Green Book explains the purpose
of the allowance for House stationery and postage
"Purpose of the facility
A cash-limited provision of House stationery and
pre-paid envelopes is made available to Members for their parliamentary
duties."
Paragraph 2.6.3.1 makes the following provision in
respect of pre-paid envelopes:
"Pre-paid envelopes are designed to enable
you to reply to letters or other contacts you receive, and to
write to individuals and organisations in pursuit of your parliamentary
duties. They should not be used to send mail to people on issues
on which they have not previously contacted you. You can use stationery
and pre-paid envelopes to respond to contacts you have received
through any medium."
The same paragraph also identifies circumstances
where pre-paid envelopes must not be used, including:
"for correspondence you instigate with
constituents on issues on which they have not previously contacted
you."
Paragraph 2.6.3.2 sets out provisions in relation
to the use of House stationery. It includes the following paragraph:
"If you wish to use House of Commons stationery
to write to people on issues on which they have not previously
contacted you, you must purchase it from the suppliers, not as
part of your cash-limited entitlement. Alternatively, you may
photocopy stationery which includes the crowned portcullis and
the words 'House of Commons'…"
The rules in relation to Communications Expenditure
are also set out in the Green Book of July 2009. Section 2.5.1
sets out the purpose of the allowance as follows:
"Communications Expenditure is designed to
help Members communicate proactively with their constituents about
their work in furtherance of their parliamentary duties."
The same paragraph gives examples of appropriate
expenditure, including:
- "Regular reports and
constituency newsletters; questionnaires, surveys and petitions
- Contact cards
- Distribution costs
- Advertising of surgery and constituency meetings".
The Green Book is supplemented by the booklet entitled
The Communications Allowance and the use of House stationery
which was published in April 2006. This sets out the rules on
producing newsletters and other publications from the Communications
Expenditure, formerly the Communications Allowance. Paragraph
18 provides as follows in relation to the Communications Expenditure:
"Your publication must include a short notice
explaining that costs are to be met from the allowances, and giving
the source of any other funding."
I would welcome your comments on this complaint in
the light of this summary of the rules. In particular, it would
be helpful to know:
1. The circumstances in which you came to invite
some of your constituents to your coffee morning;
2. Which constituents were targeted for your letter
and how many such letters you sent out;
3. The source of the notepaper used for your letter,
and specifically whether it was it drawn from your stationery
allowance, or funded by your Communications Expenditure or by
yourself;
4. If the notepaper used for the letter was not drawn
from your stationery allowance but funded from your Communications
Expenditure, why it did not include a notice identifying the funding
source;
5. The distribution arrangements for this letter
including how many second class (or first class) House of Commons
pre-paid envelopes you used for this dispatch;
6. Whether you at any time consulted the Department
of Resources about any aspect of your letter or its dispatch.
Any other comments you may wish to make to help me
with my inquiry would, of course, be very welcome.
I enclose a note which sets out the procedure I follow.
I have written to the complainant to let him know that I have
accepted his complaint and am writing to you about it. I would
be very grateful if it were possible to let me have a response
to this letter within the next three weeks. If you would like
a word about any of this, please contact me at the House.
I would be most grateful for your help on this matter.
1 October 2009
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