The Members' Expenses Committee, until July 2011 called the Members' Allowances Committee, was a
select committee Select committee may refer to:
*Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues
*Select or special committee (United States Congress)
*Select ...
of the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
, the lower house of the
United Kingdom Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
. The committee advises the Members Estimates Committee and the
Leader of the House of Commons
The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...
on any potential developments in the allowances system for members of the Commons.
The committee was established on 22 January 2009 as one of several motions put forward by
the government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
attempting to deal with the issue of MPs' expenses which were due to be released under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation
...
. The committee was also asked to propose an interim system of expenses and allowances for MPs shortly after the
MPs' expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous year ...
broke in May 2009.
The
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is a public body in the United Kingdom created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors the ...
(IPSA) was created in answer to the expenses scandal, and the
Speaker's Committee on IPSA to oversee it. As a result, the committee lay dormant from the
May 2011 general election until July 2011. The committee was renamed, with the expectation of new members being appointed, amid marked dissatisfaction with the expenses scheme developed by IPSA. Its task was to report back to the House on the operations of the
Parliamentary Standards Act 2009
The Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (c.13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that entered into force in part on 21 July 2009, largely as a response to the Parliamentary expenses scandal. The Act was considered urgent by the gov ...
(which established IPSA) with due consideration to the following:
Vote and Proceedings
House of Commons, 12 May 2011.
# value for money for taxpayers
# accountability
# public confidence in Parliament
# the ability of members to fulfill their duties effectively
# fairness for less well-off members and those with families
# whether members are deterred from submitting legitimate claims
Membership
As of 18 July 2011, the members of the committee are as follows:
Source
Members' Expenses Committee
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Changes
Occasionally, the House of Commons orders changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection. Such changes are shown below.
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References
External links
Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives
See also
*Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom
The parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom are committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Each consists of a small number of Members of Parliament from the House of Commons, or peers from the House of Lords, or a mix of both, app ...
{{UKParliamentCommittees
Select Committees of the British House of Commons