Departing MP Budget Summary

Request

Recently my former MP Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South), was relieved of his seat in Parliament. I wish to know if he received severance or as some people call a “golden handshake”, upon leaving as a MP.

If he was offered this money, please tell me if he refused this payment or asked for it to be given to a charity or other cause. I also wish to know the amount.

Response

I can confirm that we do hold information relevant to your request which relates to MPs who lose their seats following an election.

All MPs receive a Winding-up Payment to assist them with completing any outstanding parliamentary work and closing down their offices.

The Winding-up Budget is a standard amount for all departing MPs dependant only on whether they are based in London or not and is the equivalent of two months' salary.

The current budget for departing MPs can be found on our website.

In addition, if an MP has two years of service or more, they are entitled to Loss of Office Payment which is equal to twice their statutory redundancy allowance.

More information about the payments made to departing MPs can be found on the web page mentioned above.

The information you have requested is subject to a Refusal Notice under section 21 of FOIA as it is available from our website.

Ref:
CAS-159210
Disclosure:
15 May 2020
Categories:
IPSA - POLICY
Exemptions Applied:
Section 21