Business of the House

Bob Russell Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman and his Committee for producing those two reports. I envisage that those motions will be on the operative part of the Order Paper next week. The House can then decide whether to let them through on the nod or to debate them.

[Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Last month the shadow Leader of the House asked for a debate on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, and was told that the Opposition could table it as the subject of an Opposition day debate. IPSA is of concern to MPs throughout the House: it is obstructing MPs in their duties, and the equivalent of 100 full-time jobs are now dedicated simply to MPs and their staff completing forms. Is it not time that the Government initiated a debate on this subject? The Leader of the House is fully aware of what is going on.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for articulating concerns that are shared by hon. Members on both sides of the House. The Government have no plans to allocate a day to debating IPSA, but it is open to him to go along at 4 o’clock and put his case for a debate on IPSA, as I think one of my hon. Friends has already done. I shall see the interim chief executive of IPSA later today, and I shall pass on the hon. Gentleman’s concerns to him. It is the objective of IPSA to support Members of Parliament in the performance—[Interruption.]. It is the duty of IPSA to support Members of Parliament in the performance of their duties, and not to obstruct them.