Periodic Adjustment to MPs’ Pay: Consultation

Date published: 8 October 2020

Today IPSA is publishing a consultation on how MPs’ pay should be updated.

We have a statutory duty under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 to review MPs’ pay in the first year of each parliament. We decided after consulting in 2012, 2013 and 2015 that the best way to update MPs’ pay periodically was to link it to a transparent, external benchmark, and that the most appropriate benchmark was a measure of earnings. This consultation proposes to retain that approach, using the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Average Weekly Earnings figure reflecting changes in public sector earnings for the period ahead.

Richard Lloyd, IPSA’s Interim Chair, said:

"IPSA is responsible for setting MP’s pay and pensions. We act independently of parliament and have a statutory duty to review MPs’ pay in the first year of each parliament. We carried out a major review of MPs’ pay with consultations in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and technical adjustments in 2018. Given the huge economic uncertainties arising from the coronavirus pandemic, we do not think it is right to depart from this approach now.”

The consultation will close on 6 November 2020 and we expect to make a decision in December 2020.

You can take part in the consultation by following the links below:

ENDS

For more details contact IPSA's Press Office.

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Notes to Editors:

  1. IPSA was created in 2009 by the Parliamentary Standards Act. The Act was amended in 2010 by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act. Together they gave IPSA three main responsibilities:

    • To regulate MPs’ business costs and expenses.

    • To determine MPs’ pay and pension arrangements.

    • To provide financial support to MPs in carrying out their parliamentary functions.

  2. IPSA is independent of Parliament and the Government. This allows us to take decisions about the rules on business costs and expenses and on MPs’ pay ourselves, without interference.

  3. The Scheme of MPs' Business Costs and Expenses ('the Scheme') governs what MPs can and cannot claim for. We review our rules regularly and consult the public when we do so.