Issued by the News
Distribution Service on behalf of the Senior Saleries Review Body
The Government has today published the report of the Review Body
on Senior Salaries (SSRB) on financial support for Members of the
House of Lords.
Launching the report, Bill Cockburn, Chairman of the SSRB, said:
"The recommended changes provide Members of the House of
Lords with the necessary financial support to enable them to carry
out their important Parliamentary duties.
Our proposals offer the taxpayer much more transparency and
accountability than the present arrangements, which lack clarity
and could be vulnerable to misunderstanding and abuse.”
The SSRB’s report was commissioned by the House of Lords
authorities with a strong remit for reform. We consulted widely
and many Peers pressed for a new system to satisfy the needs of
Parliament, restore public confidence and provide an appropriate
level of financial support to Peers. Above all they called for
much greater clarity in the criteria governing financial support.
Key features and recommendations include:
* Transparency; clear criteria; personal declarations;
publication and independent audit of all aspects of the new
system.
* A reduced overnight subsistence allowance of up to
£140 per night, fully supported by receipts for those Peers based
outside Greater London and beyond reasonable commuting
distance.
* Replacement of the existing daily allowances of up
to £180 per day by a fee of £200 for each day of attendance at
debates and Committees in the House of Lords. The new fee will
cover out-of-pocket expenses, meals, office costs, including
secretarial assistance if required, and a contribution to
income.
* Travel costs from home to Westminster will be paid
subject to receipts or charged to the House of Lords travel credit
card.
* A strengthened system for validating and measuring the
attendances of Peers in the House, using technology where
practicable.
* Peers claiming overnight subsistence must make
personal declarations, with supporting justification that their
principal residence is outside Greater London and beyond
reasonable commuting distance.
* Peers owning second homes in
London may claim specified running costs against receipts up to
£140 per day of attendance. Mortgage interest costs will not be
allowable after a transitional period of five years.
*
Payments to Peers are tax exempt at present. The proposed daily
fee should become subject to tax when legislation is amended and
the level of the fee should then be reviewed.
* There should
be independent audit by the National Audit Office of claims and
declarations by Peers.
* Salaries and financial support to
Lords Ministers to be reviewed by the SSRB when the salaries of
MPs are reviewed in the next Parliament.
Bill Cockburn continued:
"The SSRB has produced a balanced, robust package of
measures which, if adopted in full, will provide appropriate
financial support for Peers, value for the taxpayer and much more
rigorous governance.
We were greatly impressed by the dedication, quality and
professionalism of the House of Lords. It plays a vital and much
valued role within the Parliamentary process. Members are drawn
from a broad spectrum of society from across the UK and many are
eminent in their specialist fields."
Notes for Editors
1. The SSRB’s full report and all non-confidential responses to
the consultation are available on the website of the Office of
Manpower Economics (OME) (http://www.ome.uk.com/review.cfm?body=4).
The OME provides the secretariat to the pay review bodies.
2. Currently most Members of the Lords do not receive salaries
but may claim daily allowances of up to £335.50 intended to cover
costs of attending the House, including travel, overnight
accommodation, secretarial and office costs (where eligible) and
out-of-pocket expenses. No receipts are required to claim, except
for certain travel expenses.
3. The recommended changes are expected to be broadly
cost-neutral, but meet much higher standards of transparency and
accountability and reduce the scope for abuse, for example by
requiring receipts and tightening up the definition of ‘principal residence’.
4. The SSRB is an independent body which advises the Government
on the remuneration of senior positions in the public sector,
including the judiciary, senior military officers, senior civil
servants and some senior NHS managers.
5. Information on the SSRB’s membership and standing terms of
reference are available at http://www.ome.uk.com/review.cfm?body=4
Contact: Dawn Camus, Press Officer, 0207 215 8391
www.ome.uk.com
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the above department
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk