ACA Review update
In January 2010 Sir Thomas Legg will report to the MEC (Members Estimate Committee) on his findings and recommendations of his review into MP’s second home allowance (ACA). The MEC chaired by the Speaker with senior Government and Opposition MP’s on it, had commissioned Sir Thomas Legg to conduct this ACA Review and report his findings to them.
His review so far has been widely reported, talked about and mused over. Rumours and revelations were abounding during and will almost certainly be after he reports. Sir Thomas had conducted his review over the summer and wrote to each Member of Parliament 12 October, detailing his provisional findings of their last four year accounts and made proposals for some repayment where he thought it necessary and sought further information re Members annual mortgage interest statements (MIRAS) and rental agreements.
In his letter to me he identified a duplicate monthly claim at the end of the 2006/7 financial year dated 31 March for 01-31 March 2007 of £1630.14 and asked that I repay this amount. I was taken aback at his provisional findings but on checking, there were two claims dated for 31 March 2007 and however inexplicable this news seemed to me, I accepted responsibility for it. The only explanation for such an error on my part was that it was made at the financial year end.
However, before my final submission to ACA Review team I decided to look again at my accounts for 2006/07 and found that I had not submitted two duplicate claims for March 2007 but that I had wrongly dated the claim for £1630.14p i.e. where the claim made 31 March should have been dated for 01-31 January 2007 ; two month previous and in same financial year; and further that of the 12 months re 2006/07 financial year, I had submitted claims for only 10 of the 12 months.
Sir Thomas’s review team also requested copies of MIRAS statements for each of the four years of his review, i.e., 2004/05; 2005/06; 2006/07 and 2007/08.
Getting this information caused some delay but I received my MIRAS certificates from my lender in reasonably good time and immediately submitted them to the ACA review team. On examination of my MIRAS documents over the 2004-2008 period of the ACA review, I had paid marginally more in interest payments than I had claimed.
The Members Estimate Committee has decided that there should be an appeal process built into Sir Thomas Legg’s conclusions. MP’s who feel that all or part of Legg’s proposal for repayment are unfair and not equitable, will be able to appeal and that any such appeal will be considered by Sir Paul Kennedy, a former Lord Justice of Appeal,
The former Lord Justice will consider any special reasons given by MP’s in their own case showing why it would not be fair or equitable to require them to make the repayments or to make them at the level recommended. This appeal process will be in respect of individual cases only and not to reopen Sir Thomas’s review as a whole.
New PAAE
This week saw the publication of the last year of the ACA 2008-09 accounts along with the first quarter of its replacement, i.e. the new Parliamentary Additional Accommodation Expenditure (PAAE) April – June 2010. The media coverage of the ACA 2008-09 may have been predictable to some with the understandable widespread rage that accompanied it. The behaviour of the disreputable few continues to damage all MPs most of whom feel they are being tarred by the same brush. I understand the anger throughout the country at those MP’s from all political parties, and I certainly do “get it” and share and understand that anger.
That said, the first quarter of the new PAAC is a better judge of how Parliament has made the first step to clean up the hitherto hated system of parliamentary allowances. I am on record in condemning the system before the exposé of the summer in 2009. In a submission to the Baker Review 2007-08 into salaries and allowances I wrote, quote, “Why don’t we have a rule that MP’s cannot pay more than £250 out of their own pocket and have the House authorities devise a system of finance accounting that pay directly on the instruction of the MP. We already have such a system with MP’s Travel; why not look at a system that would cover all other spending. N. B. This would also improve the huge bureaucracy needed to check, file and audit invoices and expenditure. The ACA allowance is no longer sustainable and needs a root and branch reform. At the very least there should be a maximum limit to the amount of capital interest payable from the ACA. e.g. 40-50% of the ACA total” end quote.
The ACA is now defunct and mortgage interest payment limits and rents have been imposed (but not low enough) and interest payments will soon end altogether. Keep visiting my webpage for further updates.