Supplementary written evidence from Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) (LAN0026)

Dear Harriet, 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute on behalf of IPSA towards the recent oral evidence session of the Committee’s inquiry into the House of Commons standards landscape.  

As you know, there are aspects of the inquiry’s scope on which others would be better placed to comment. However, there are three matters on which I believe it would be helpful for the Committee to make specific recommendations. 

Management training 

Last year’s Speaker’s Conference on the employment of Members’ staff carefully considered the question of management training and HR support for MPs and their staff. IPSA is strongly committed to doing whatever we can to improve employment and management practices for MPs’ staff and has supported the recommendations the Conference made.  

It would be helpful if your Committee could add its support to the work IPSA is already undertaking with the House Members’ Services Team in establishing a joined-up approach to continuous training. Preparations are also well underway for providing better support to new and returning MPs after the next General Election, and we see this as an important opportunity. Should Members not take up the management training on offer in sufficient numbers, we need to understand the reasons behind this lack of engagement and attempt to facilitate greater take-up through persuasion before considering the possible imposition of funding sanctions. 

As you know, we have made the employment of new staff on the IPSA payroll conditional upon MPs using IPSA contracts and pay bands, which is an area that clearly falls within our regulatory remit. Making public funding conditional upon the completion of training for MPs, when IPSA does not set job descriptions for Members of Parliament or mandate any other aspects of how they carry out their role, has been seen by past IPSA Boards as going beyond the mandate given to us by Parliament. There is also the attendant risk that we would not want management training to be seen as a panacea for what is a much wider, cultural issue, which the Speaker’s Conference recognised.  

Formalising coordination mechanisms between standards bodies 

As I stated during the Committee hearing, IPSA engages regularly with our counterparts in the House of Commons standards landscape. However, such engagement between the different bodies can be irregular and relatively informal. 

It would be helpful if the Committee could consider recommending the formalisation of coordination mechanisms between the parliamentary standards bodies, building on existing memorandums of understanding and bilateral arrangements, under the aegis of a group with a rotating chair, regularised meetings, and mutually agreed standing orders. 

Improvements to the complaints process 

We note that a number of written and oral submissions to the inquiry provided by other organisations suggested the creation of a single point of entry for complaints and enquiries made by members of the public with regard to standards issues, so that they can then be triaged effectively and sent to the relevant standards body.  

We would welcome any steps that the Committee recommends in relation to the handling of complaints by the correct standards body, and we will engage positively with practical initiatives proposed. One obvious solution would be for the House website to clearly describe in one place which body is responsible for each aspect of potential misconduct, signposting to the appropriate contact. 

The number of complaints IPSA receives from members of the public is now relatively low, with complaints requiring referral to other standards bodies comprising only a small proportion of these. As such, any proposed improvements to the complaints process would need to be proportionate and cost-effective. 

I look forward to the report of the Committee when it concludes its inquiry and will engage fully with its recommendations. In the meantime, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. 

All good wishes, 

Richard Lloyd OBE                                                       

Chair