Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the allocation of an annual budget to Members of Parliament for distribution to good causes in their constituency.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government does not have plans to provide individual budgets to MPs for local causes. There is an established process for parliamentary approval of local funding via the Estimates process, and IPSA independently of Parliament is responsible for administering MPs’ pay and allowances associated with their parliamentary duties.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking to review the role of Member of Parliaments a) in general and b) given planned changes through local government reorganisation.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has no plans for a general review of the role of MPs who, as elected representatives, play an important scrutiny role at a national level. MPs are accountable to their constituents and as office holders are able to perform their role as they see appropriate.
In the Cabinet Statement on 'Rewiring the State' published in July, the Government set out its ambition to deliver growth and the benefits of local empowerment across all parts of the country, while also ensuring “that there is a clear role for Members of Parliament in local accountability, working with mayors and local councillors." The Government will provide further details on this policy in due course.