AIBU to think this £10,000 for each MP is just plain wrong

[LuluJakey1]

MPs are each entitled to a £10,000 additional payment because they are working from home.

AIBU to think that in these times of financial distress and worry for millions, this is a totally unnecessary payment and should immediately be stopped?

Jeremy Corbyn has apparently refused the money and asked that his be donated to the NHS.

@Everythingsr0sie thank goodness!

I also work for an MP.

And the £10k grant for business for local authorities IS NOT available for MP constituency offices- we are not. businesses, so not entitled to it. That article saying we are is bullshit.

The staff in London are not allowed to go to work. Most of them have desktop computers, which they could not take home. (When was the last time you carried a desktop, monitor, keyboard & mouse home on the tube? Staff can’t drive into Westminster to pick stuff up- and it has to be installed by parliamentary services.
Most MP staff DO NOT already have work laptop/phone. Some do.
But should eg staff have to pay for the hundreds of calls to constituents stranded overseas? On mobiles? Or should that be claimed under work costs?
A few facts about this extra £10k

1. MPs DID NOT ASK FOR IT
2. they were informed by email 2 weeks ago that the budget would be increased.
3. they aren’t being given it- they have to claim fkr out of pocket expenses.
4. most MPs will not use it
5. it’s for stuff only for parliamentary work- or must be paid back
6. every item will need a receipt, proof & explanation of why it was bought - or MP pays it back

This is obscene. I dont know any other industry where extra money is available to help set up wfh. Most are making cutbacks with some using their own equipment.

I find it hard to believe that mp's staff dont already have laptops and iPads with the existing generous expenses allowance. At a push I would accept 1k or 2k at a push for home adjustments. 10k is a joke. I hope we get to see a detailed breakdown of who claimed what.

And you will be able to check online exactly what your MP claimed for. Every item, every penny.
In about 3/4 months it will be published.
@LuluJakey1 when I was a teacher, my school gave me a laptop to use for schoolwork to keep kids’ info secure. I had acces to 35 kids’ info.
As an MP staffer I have access to 70,000 peoples’ very personal data. And access to the parliamentary intranet. Which is attacked daily by hostile IT.
I can’t just buy something from Argos. It has to be secure.

And crap like this is why I’m putting up with people shouting abuse down the phone at me- becuase people truly believe that MPs are leeches - and they shout at the staff.

We are trying to deal with hundreds of emails from people needing help- and now we are also dealing with abusive emails becuase IPSA increased the budget without MPs asking for it.

@Janaih it will all be published.
And most MP staff have desktops, not laptops- becuase they are cheaper to purchase & MPs don’t like to max out the budget.

And none of our staff have work iPads. We don’t need them for work.

In my business we’ve all suddenly had to work from home. We were a very office centred business.

No money for businesses like us. Most people don’t have work laptops/phones. They’re using their own. We’re in dire circumstances financially with lots of future contracts being cancelled. We’re just having to rub along as best we can.

I don’t see why MPs should be getting this when the country is in dire straights and everyone else is having to make do and mend.

I dont know any other industry where extra money is available to help set up wfh. Most are making cutbacks with some using their own equipment

This

@MitziK most staff work on desktops- and in the office, so no need for mobile work phone.
@KenDodd- no the MPs were given no choice over the budget increase- they got an email 2 weeks ago telling them it is available- they don’t vote on pay or expenses.

most staff work on desktops

Yes, same in our business.

They’re using their own personal machines.

We’re not supposed to use personal machines due to security &data protection.

And like I said- the majority of MPs are very unlikely to use a penny of this extra budget. It will all be published so you can see who did- and what for.

We’re not supposed to use personal machines due to security &data protection.

And you think other businesses are somehow exempt from data protection?

We’re a very data heavy business. Data protection/GDPR controls were put in immediately.

Everything is saved to the cloud, not personal machines. Everything has multiple layers of password protection.

Other businesses can make this work, why are MPs offices somehow different?

@LaurieMarlow perhaps your industry has access to highly sensitive info, and their IT is attacked daily by foreign hostile powers? In which case I’m surprised you’re allowed to use personal machines.
As MP staff we have to be very careful about security.

It’s not just data protection.
It’s National security.

‘Everything is saved to the cloud’

All very well if you have good enough internet.

As MP staff we have to be very careful about security.

As do we. We have very sensitive info, trust me.

But in the absence of a big money handout we make things work while following protocols. Because that’s what companies in the real world, who can’t just commandeer tax payer money, have to do.

It’s not just data protection. It’s National security

EVERYONE needs to abide by GDPR rules.

@LaurieMarlow are you being serious? Can you really not see why government held information is more vulnerable?

Lots of businesses hold lots of vulnerable information. Not all of them were perfectly set up for working from home. None of them got handouts for this.

Also guessing the company you work for turns some sort of profit to remain viable, could you have put the neccessary security systems in place at zero cost? MP offices don't 'make' any money.

@LaurieMarlow there is clearly zero point trying to explain, but honestly it is mind boggling how you can't see why security is a huge, huge deal for the government, more so than private companies.

EVERYONE needs to abide by GDPR rules.

Um yes.

When was the last time your workplace got death threats? We get them daily.
When was the last time your workplace had a terrorist attack?
When was the last time a foreign government tried to hack your computer?
Something like 80% of emails sent to parliamentary addresses are hostile (ie attacking the system- not the death threats- those aren’t ‘hostile’)
Is your physical workplace protected by armed police who patrol every corridor? Some in uniform- some undercover.

Does your workplace do a security check on you before you start? Checking on you & every member of your family?
Does your boss have bullet proof glass in his house, CCTV & a safe room? Or a fire bomb proof letter box?
Is all your post security screened for bombs and poison?

I dont know any other industry where extra money is available to help set up wfh. Most are making cutbacks with some using their own equipment

My company sent a memo saying they'd pay for work equipment within reason, so it's not totally unheard of.

Does your boss have bullet proof glass in his house, CCTV & a safe room? Or a fire bomb proof letter box?

Wtf is the relevance of all this, we’re talking about data.

Or does the allowance cover bomb proofing people’s houses too?

Yes, we’ve had significant attacks on our systems, because we have information people would be very keen to get their hands on. Lots of private companies are in this position.

The relevance is that an MP office is not the same as most businesses.