Details of MP salary payments

Request

Please can you tell me how much Apsana Begum MP has been paid every month since she was elected?

Can you also provide me with details of her expense claims?


Response

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request, but it is subject to a Refusal Notice under sections 21 and 22(1) of FOIA.

Information about Ms Begum’s salary is covered by the exemption at section 21, because it reasonably accessible by other means. All MPs receive a basic salary and the details of this can be seen on the website. MPs may receive additional salary for such things like sitting on a select committee and when this is the case the information will be listed under their entry on the website.

This location is also the place where we publish details about Ms Begum’s expenses. This information is therefore covered by the exemption at section 22(1) because it is intended for future publication by IPSA as part of our routine publication schedule.

Section 22(1) is a qualified exemption and requires us to consider the public interest. MPs have a certain amount of time in which to submit their claims, and this period has been extended due to the pandemic. Once claims have been submitted there is then a period of validation and reconciliation, before the information is ready for publication.

Information about claims will be published in November 2020 together with information about budgets. In the light of the validation and reconciliation procedure and because IPSA already has schedule of routinely publishing this information, I find that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

Ref:
RFI-202007-1
Disclosure:
16 July 2020
Categories:
MPs' PAY AND PENSIONS
Exemptions Applied:
Sections 21, Sections 22