Cost of MPs' pay and pensions survey
Request
The Reviewing MP's Pensions and Expenses report on your website states 'last summer, we commissioned detailed research into public attitudes on MPs’ pay and pensions prior to launching a formal consultation in October 2012'.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, please state the overall cost of this research and outline the different costs involved.
Your website also states the 'IPSA commissioned an anonymised survey of MPs'. I understand this was the YouGov poll, which questioned 100 MPs.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, please state the costs this particular poll and, if relevant, outline the different costs involved.
Response
IPSA holds the information that you request.
The detailed research was performed for IPSA by an external polling organisation. In the past, the issue of MP remuneration has been settled by MPs themselves. In a break from that practice, the issue will now be settled independently by IPSA. However, in line with our approach to revising the scheme governing MPs’ business costs and expenses, we are committed to engaging and listening to the public. This kind of in-depth research is one way of exploring the views of the public. It has given us a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the public’s view and what has contributed to those views.
The total cost for this work was £56,655 plus VAT. This included the following elements:
| Stage | Description | Cost |
| Stage 1 | Five questions in a regular online omnibus poll | £2000+VAT |
| Stage 2 | Four focus groups conducted in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales | £9990 +VAT. |
| Stage 3 | Two citizens’ juries conducted in England | £35000+VAT |
| Stage 4 | Twelve questions in a regular online omnibus poll with booster samples for respondents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland | £9665+VAT |
The anonymised survey of MPs was conducted by YouGov. The costs of this have already been released under a previous FOI request, reference FOI2013-A152.
The FOIA states that information that is easily accessible by other means is not subject to release. Therefore, as the information you have requested relating to the 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years is already available on our website it is exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the FOIA (information accessible to applicant by other means).
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- Ref:
- FOI2013-A177
- Disclosure:
- 11 March 2013
- Categories:
- MPs' PAY AND PENSIONS
- Exemptions Applied:
- Section 21