MPs receiving funding for apprentices

Request

How many mp's receive funding towards apprentership for staff and do you know which mp's are claiming it.

Further do you know how much they receive?


Response

IPSA holds the information that you request.

Under the terms of the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses (‘the Scheme’), MPs can claim Staffing Expenditure to meet the cost incurred in the provision of staff to assist with the performance of an MP's parliamentary functions. This may include “apprentices” where those apprenticeships meet the standards of the National Apprenticeship Service.  Paragraph 7.8 of the Scheme states that:

The salaries of apprentices employed by an MP after 7 May 2010 will be paid by IPSA provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

  • the apprentice is employed on terms that meet the standards of the National Apprenticeship Scheme; and

  • the terms of the employment and the job description have been provided to IPSA.

Apprentices who receive sponsorship from an educational establishment in the form of additional funding, have that funding paid direct to IPSA and credited against the staffing budget of the Member.

Please find attached, in Annex A, the name of MPs currently employing apprentices (as of 31 March 2014), alongside the additional funding paid to IPSA and credited to their staffing budgets, from third parties.

MP NameFunding received (£)Number of apprentices
Alex Cunningham1,500.001
Gordon Birtwistle1,500.001
Dave Watts1,500.001
Pat Glass1,500.001

Ref:
F1314-242
Disclosure:
7 April 2014
Categories:
MPs' STAFFING
Exemptions Applied: