MPs to get £10000 extra for WFH?

[crosstalk]

Am I being unreasonable to think if true this is ridiculous? When everyone else WFH is sucking it up? Prizes who can think of why - unless like minister Janrick you have two homes and have just travelled 300 miles to bring food to self isolating parents.

So 78% of posters didn't get past the sensationalist headlines then hmm
Yup. For the fact that half an MN claims to be in top tax bracket, reading comprehension is pretty poor in here...

I work for the NHS. We’ve taken our desktops and screens home and most of us are working from our dining tables. No printers. On the Trust secure networks using our own broadband. No additional equipment and no additional funding.

Corbyn can't donate a credit card limit. Especially one that's not his. Get a grip.

They aren't exempt from providing receipts either. The checking of them is delayed a few months.

Oh for goodness sake, they are being good employers, exactly as they should be. It's obviously awful that NHS workers don't have the PPE but really, do people begrudge others having equipment to do their job safely and following government guidance? Imagine if the government didn't do this, we'd equally be up in arms.

@TildaKauskumholm

I also read that they will be exempt from providing receipts for this sum... so, almost every one of them will no doubt be claiming the full £10K no doubt.

Where did you read that?

@TildaKauskumholm they still have to provide receipts- usually within 90 days, but in case those receipts are physical and the person has no scanner, they can now be uploaded later than the 90 days.
If no receipt is ever provided, the MP will have to pay the money back.

Read on BBC news website 'relaxing of requirements to produce receipts'.

Or read the IPSA rules- which are relaxing the timescale- currently 90 days.
They’ll still have to provide receipts.

IPSA check everything- then they check again about 6 months later- and if they aren’t happy, or the receipt isn’t good enough- the money is paid back. And published.

@TildaKauskumholm

So from this, the BBC article -

In addition to increasing the money available for MPs’ office costs, the authority is also suspending the 90-day limit for claiming costs and relaxing the requirements on producing evidence of money spent.

your understanding is this -

I also read that they will be exempt from providing receipts for this sum... so, almost every one of them will no doubt be claiming the full £10K no doubt.

I hope you warmed up before that stretch

no receipts are required!!!! its a joke I am sure that they all have laptops already! one rule for themselves and one rule for the poorer people in society. My husband slips through all nets of help as he is a self employed director of a ltd company. We are NOT rich in fact the opposite!

I cannot believe that the staff don’t have anything they can use. It could be used to upgrade the MP’s current set up. Apple do LOVELY desk tops. My DH has one. I actually read this wrong and thought it was £1000.

£10,000 is an awful lot and don’t MP’s tend to give these roles to family etc. Really bad idea in this current climate.

@whatistheworld they do require receipts- after lockdown, IPSA will require receipts or MPs will have to pay it back.
@bathroom12345 read the thread. Most staff don’t have laptops.

@whatistheworld

no receipts are required!!!!

Where did you read that?

@Bathroom12345 it wasn’t the MPs idea.
They simply got told the budget was available. They had no choice.
Obvs they can choose not to spend it- an if they do, it’ll all be published for you to see.

I think we all saw clearly enough with the MP expenses scandal that a great many of them are not to be trusted when a large sum is at stake ... No I did not read the IPSA documents, as I'm sure most of us don't, I read the BBC news which is supposed to be an impartial and accurate account. Sorry, will make sure to read all parliamentary documents in full before posting again , wouldn't want to unfairly malign these fine upstanding citizens.

Gingham - whatever you're views on MPs (for the record I've worked alongside many across parties and the vast vast majority are committing their constituencies) this fund is primarily designed for their staff so the 'upstanding citizens' snark is seriously misplaced

gingham really?

If it makes everyone happier to believe that your local MP has been chucked 10k in cash to spend, without accountability, on Blossom Hill and a hot tub then go ahead! No amount of fact is going to change your minds.
Dear god...

The article about not having to provide receipts within the ordinary time scale was in the Telegraph.

MPs already have a very generous expenses allowance. Assuming that travel, accommodation and sustenance costs are currently minimal, I'm struggling to understand what they need an extra 10K for tbh.

FOR THEIR STAFF TO BE EQUIPPED AND ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME. ffs.

Shouting makes it so much more acceptable, Shmith

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING Shmithecat2.

It's a perfectly fair point that MPs already have generous expenses allowance which covers office expenses, postage, telephone and other comms, employing staff, travel, accommodation. Even £25 per night sustenance which in itself works out more than UC for single person if claimed 5 nights a week.

It's not clear what exactly they need another 10K expenses for.

Because the existing allowances were developed when the expectation was that MP's staff would be located at a constituency office with desk tops and land lines. Now they cannot work at a constituency office and so need to work remotely. The uplift in allowances is to facilitate this additional, unexpected expense. If MPs have capacity in their existing allowance they won't draw this down - many MP's have said they don't need it. But for the MPs staff that do need additional equipment there is flex in the system - it really isn't that hard to comprehend.

BECAUSE SOME OF YOU SEEM TO BE HARD OF READING/COMPREHENSION. Or are just being fucking obtuse.

The budgets are all separate, not one big budget, so it’s not the case that “but they’re spending less on travel so they have more to spare anyway”. You couldn’t claim an extra laptop for a staff member from the travel cost budget, it just doesn’t work that way.

@GeneticTest thank you for your replies here, I would explain slowly too but it’s too infuriating