Role - Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Welcome to the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

The Committee is a statutory body whose role is defined by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The work of the Committee relates to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which was established under the Parliamentary Standards Act to pay Members' salaries, set and pay Members' allowances and to appoint a Compliance Officer to conduct investigations where there is reason to believe that a Member may have been paid an amount under IPSA's scheme that should not have been allowed.

The Speaker's Committee considers the candidates proposed by the Speaker, following fair and open competition, for the posts of Chair and members of the IPSA. The candidates for these posts are then approved by the House of Commons and appointed by the Queen.

The Committee also reviews the IPSA's annual estimate of the resources it needs, in order to ensure the estimate is consistent with the efficient and cost-effective discharge of the IPSA's functions, before the estimate is laid before the House by the Speaker.

The Committee has a membership of 11. The Speaker, the Leader of the House of Commons and the chair of the Committee on Standards and Privileges are ex officio members, and five further members of the House of Commons are appointed by the House.  In addition, three lay members are appointed by the House of Commons following fair and open competition. A lay member is defined under the Act as a person who is not, and has never been, a member of either House of Parliament. The lay members were appointed on 26 January 2011.

The quorum of the Committee is three, to include one lay member and two MPs.