Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how much IPSA spent on rent for its premises in the Strand in London in 2020-21.
Answered by Charles Walker
IPSA incurred costs in 2019 - 20 of £524K on rent, rates and service charges. The equivalent figure for 2020 - 21 will be published after the end of the financial year in IPSA's 2020 - 21 annual report and accounts.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257645 on Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Buildings, which organisation's commercial interests would be prejudiced; and in what manner by disclosing the size of IPSA's office and the rate paid per metre.
Answered by Charles Walker
It is common practice for landlords to prohibit the publication of commercial agreements reached with their tenants. This is the case regarding the lease signed by IPSA and its landlord. IPSA is nonetheless a public body accountable to Parliament and its accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and scrutinised by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA in order to provide assurance that value for money has been obtained. The Speaker’s Committee is scheduled to meet in July 2019 to discuss IPSA’s finances and other matters.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 253493 on Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Location, how many staff are located in the new premises at 85 Strand; how much floor space those staff occupy; at what rate per square metre; which locations were considered outside London for new premises; and what the comparable cost would have been in locating those staff outside London.
Answered by Charles Walker
I have asked IPSA to reply.
IPSA currently has 69 members of staff. It included in its office requirements space for up to 76 staff in order to provide flexibility for periods where there is a higher volume of work and therefore a need for additional temporary staff, such as General Election periods.
To disclose the size of the office or rate paid per square metre would be prejudicial to commercial interests. IPSA’s annual accounts are laid in Parliament and published each year, and will provide information about operational costs.
Before choosing its offices at 85 Strand, IPSA considered potential premises in Croydon and Milton Keynes, as well as Stratford and Canary Wharf in London, but determined that the selected location provided the prospect of better support to MPs and better value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the cost has been of the move by IPSA to new premises in central London; and what assessment was made of the potential merits of moving the organisation to a cheaper location outside London.
Answered by Charles Walker
I have asked IPSA to reply.
IPSA moved into new office premises at 85 Strand in March 2019. The forecasted cost of this move is £732,900. This budget was approved by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA in January 2018. IPSA’s Annual Accounts for the 2018-19 financial year are being finalised and will be laid in Parliament in November. The Speaker’s Committee will have an opportunity to scrutinise this and other expenditure.
After reviewing properties on the market, the offices selected met IPSA’s criteria and offered the best value for money to the taxpayer over the long term, with competitive running cost over the life of the lease after completing initial fit-out work. Locations outside of London were considered. IPSA concluded that basing IPSA’s office in London and within reasonable distance of Parliament would ensure that IPSA can provide a better support to MPs and their staff, including regular meetings between them and their IPSA account managers.