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| MPs' pay: Watchdog to back pay rise of more than £6,000 | MPs' pay: Watchdog to back pay rise of more than £6,000 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The MPs' expenses watchdog will recommend a pay rise for MPs to £74,000 but will say there should be cuts to other allowances, the BBC has learned. | The MPs' expenses watchdog will recommend a pay rise for MPs to £74,000 but will say there should be cuts to other allowances, the BBC has learned. |
| BBC political editor Nick Robinson says the body will back a rise for after the 2015 election but will recommend a less generous pension scheme. | BBC political editor Nick Robinson says the body will back a rise for after the 2015 election but will recommend a less generous pension scheme. |
| There could also be cuts to meal allowances and taxi claims. | There could also be cuts to meal allowances and taxi claims. |
| The proposals, to be unveiled on Thursday, will go to consultation before being finalised later this year. | The proposals, to be unveiled on Thursday, will go to consultation before being finalised later this year. |
| MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year. | MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year. |
| The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015. | The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015. |
| 'Unthinkable' | 'Unthinkable' |
| The proposals will also mean lower "golden goodbyes" for departing MPs, the BBC has learned. | The proposals will also mean lower "golden goodbyes" for departing MPs, the BBC has learned. |
| "Resettlement grants" paid under the old expenses scheme were worth up to £64,766 for long-serving MPs still of a working age, the first £30,000 of which was tax-free. | "Resettlement grants" paid under the old expenses scheme were worth up to £64,766 for long-serving MPs still of a working age, the first £30,000 of which was tax-free. |
| They are not expected to be brought back for the 2015 election. | |
| But Nick Robinson said he understood that the money saved would not fully offset the increase in MPs' salaries. | |
| On pensions - it has been reported that MPs' current final salary pension scheme will be downgraded to a career average system. | |
| And the £15 allowance MPs are allowed to claim for dinner when they are required to stay in the Commons after 7.30pm will be scrapped. | |
| Leading politicians have already spoken out against a pay rise for MPs, at a time when there is a pay freeze elsewhere in the public sector. David Cameron has said such a rise would be "unthinkable" and Nick Clegg said he would not take one. | Leading politicians have already spoken out against a pay rise for MPs, at a time when there is a pay freeze elsewhere in the public sector. David Cameron has said such a rise would be "unthinkable" and Nick Clegg said he would not take one. |
| But Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) chairman Sir Ian Kennedy has warned them not to interfere, as putting off difficult decisions was what lay behind the 2009 expenses crisis. | But Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) chairman Sir Ian Kennedy has warned them not to interfere, as putting off difficult decisions was what lay behind the 2009 expenses crisis. |
| A senior Labour source said: "Our view is clear that any decision about MPs' pay must reflect wider economic circumstances and what is happening in the rest of the public sector. | |
| "It must be consistent with what is happening to nurses, teachers and others in the public sector as well as conditions in the private sector." | |
| In a blog for the Spectator website, Conservative MP Conor Burns questioned whether the timing of the pay rise represented "errant genius or malice" on Ipsa's part. | |
| "Leaving aside for a moment whether it is warranted, what exactly would this be saying to the public?" he wrote. | |
| "Can we seriously on the one hand say that we need public sector pay restraint (the private sector is largely self-frozen), that we must all make sacrifices to repair the economy and reduce the deficit if at the same time we accept a large increase to our basic pay?" | |
| He argued that the pay rise would be "more than offset by a change to the pension arrangements". | |
| "So we are asked to accept a headline pay increase that most members of the public would find eye watering and an overall package that would be worse than now." | |
| Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said it was "inappropriate at a time when every public sector worker is being asked to take a 1% rise" that MPs should be out of line. | |
| "This is an incredibly difficult decision to take. When we tried to take it ourselves we got it wrong. We then give it to an outside body - it doesn't look like they have got it right," she told the BBC's Newsnight programme. | |
| Thursday's recommendations are also expected to include a formula to determine how MPs' pay will rise in future. | Thursday's recommendations are also expected to include a formula to determine how MPs' pay will rise in future. |
| In a speech last week, Sir Ian said the watchdog had been "impressed by the idea that MPs' pay should move in line with the fortunes of those they represent, such that MPs' pay would be indexed to movements in national average earnings. If the average wage goes up, MPs' pay would go up. If the average wage falls, MPs' pay would fall." | In a speech last week, Sir Ian said the watchdog had been "impressed by the idea that MPs' pay should move in line with the fortunes of those they represent, such that MPs' pay would be indexed to movements in national average earnings. If the average wage goes up, MPs' pay would go up. If the average wage falls, MPs' pay would fall." |
| MPs used to vote on their own pay but from 2008, recommended pay rises were made by the Senior Salaries Review Body which were supposed to take place automatically. | MPs used to vote on their own pay but from 2008, recommended pay rises were made by the Senior Salaries Review Body which were supposed to take place automatically. |
| However its recommendation for a 1% rise in 2011-12 was voted down by MPs, at the instigation of the government, because of a two-year pay freeze imposed on the public sector. | However its recommendation for a 1% rise in 2011-12 was voted down by MPs, at the instigation of the government, because of a two-year pay freeze imposed on the public sector. |
| In May 2011, powers to set and administer MPs' salaries passed to Ipsa, which went on to freeze MPs' pay for 2012-13. | In May 2011, powers to set and administer MPs' salaries passed to Ipsa, which went on to freeze MPs' pay for 2012-13. |
| MPs and members of the public will be able to take part in a consultation before Ipsa publishes its final plans - expected in the autumn - which would then come into force without the need for further legislation. | MPs and members of the public will be able to take part in a consultation before Ipsa publishes its final plans - expected in the autumn - which would then come into force without the need for further legislation. |