Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

The committee scrutinised IPSA’s proposed Main Estimate for 2026-27, focusing on staffing spend, data and evidence for caseload management, office costs, centralised leases, and IT investment. Witnesses Richard Lloyd (Chair) and Karen Walker (CEO) outlined plans to reduce MPs’ administrative burden, centralise procurement, and tailor funding to local needs, while emphasising that funding decisions should be flexible and locally driven. They signalled commitments to a £7.7m staffing package for temporary pressures, a £4k per office staff-development fund, and ongoing work to improve evidence on caseloads through collaboration with House services. They warned that the budget will be flat in real terms and that a formal evidence base across all 650 MPs is being developed. The session also covered concerns about data quality (Caseworker data, email volumes), security workload, and the timing/ sequencing of major IT upgrades (online system, ERP, back-office system) which are not yet budgeted for implementation. A deep-dive into MPs’ caseloads was announced, with plans for a working group and data capture across House services. The hearing highlighted tensions between a one-size-fits-all budget approach and the need for tailored, needs-based funding, and clarified IPSA’s stance on triaging constituent replies as part of workload management rather than reducing engagement with constituents.

IPSA presented its main estimate and plan for 2025-26, outlining a programme to modernise the organisation and its regulatory approach while managing budget pressures. The witnesses detailed intentions to 1) restart and implement reforms to operating models, 2) move to more guidance-based regulation with greater reliance on account managers, 3) review remuneration arrangements for MPs and staff, 4) centralise procurement, and 5) improve publication of spending data. They also explained staff- and office-budget considerations, capital expenditure for a new office due to Strand lease expiry, IT/Unit4 licensing issues, and McCloud remediation costs funded via the pension system. The questioning强调 the need for a centralised, efficient IPSA that can scale with a changing Parliament and that reforms should be gradual, well-communicated, and budget-neutral where possible. Key government commitments or positions include gradual shifts toward guidance-based rules, continued consultation on staff remuneration and office provisioning, and ongoing scrutiny of major cost drivers (IT, consultancy, and capital).

This session scrutinised IPSA’s supplementary estimate for 2024-25, focusing on election-related spend, McCloud remedy provisions, budgeting for MPs’ staff and offices, and lessons for future elections. IPSA committed to communicating provisional 2025-26 budgets this week and returning with a full estimate in March, and outlined an automatic 3% staff salary uplift from 1 April 2025 with MPs able to opt out. It discussed extending the winding-up period from two to four months, the tax treatment of winding-up payments (with £6m cost implications after HMRC guidance came post-budget), and unexpected higher costs associated with new MPs’ staffing (£16,700 per new MP, totaling £5.9m). IPSA also highlighted delivering the election without external HR resources, significant inbound contact volumes with strong service levels, and ongoing plans for training and next-election planning based on lessons learned.