{"id":21,"date":"2014-01-26T13:04:23","date_gmt":"2014-01-26T13:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scscsussex.wordpress.com\/?p=21"},"modified":"2014-01-26T13:04:23","modified_gmt":"2014-01-26T13:04:23","slug":"doughnuts-paper-clips-and-door-mats-mps-expenses-claims-are-back-in-the-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/centre-for-the-study-of-corruption\/2014\/01\/26\/doughnuts-paper-clips-and-door-mats-mps-expenses-claims-are-back-in-the-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Doughnuts, paper clips and door mats; MPs expenses claims are back in the news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowing what works in terms of tackling corruption is not easy.\u00a0 In some places, it is straightforward enough to pinpoint what the problem is \u2013 a politician using an expenses regime for personal gain in order to, say, clean his moat or to renovate a duck house<\/a>, for example \u2013 but finding a new set of processes to put that right can be surprisingly tricky. \u00a0Even now, five years after the MPs\u2019 expenses episode originally hit the headlines in the UK, the story continues to run.\u00a0 The Daily Mail (see here<\/a>) ran a story on Saturday 25th<\/sup> January 2014 bemoaning not just the pettiness of claiming \u00a030p for a jam doughnut (Rosie Cooper, Labour \u2013 for the record, I\u2019d very much like to know where these 30p doughnuts are available, as that is an excellent price) , 4p for travel (Tristam Hunt, Labour), 7p for a paper clip (David Cameron, Conservative), 49p for a door mat (John Barrett, Lib Dem \u2013 are MPs now shopping at Poundland? That\u2019s a super deal) and 19p for Blu-Tac (Pat McFadden, Labour).\u00a0 The pettiness of some of these claims to one side, the Mail was also enraged as they (the MPs) simply \u201cdon\u2019t seem to get it\u201d.\u00a0 What precisely they don\u2019t \u201cseem to get\u201d remained tantalisingly unclear, as no effort whatsoever was put in to outlining what the perfect expenses regime would look like.\u00a0 That, it seems, is not the Daily Mail\u2019s job.\u00a0 It\u2019s much more straightforward to point out some of the quirks within the system, some of the grey areas and some of the more bizarre claims.\u00a0 Ideas on how to put this right?\u00a0 No suggestions forthcoming.<\/p>\n

It is easy to see both why voters will be annoyed at seeing MPs claim money back on the most trivial of things and why the Mail (amongst others) refuses to outline how we might move this debate forward.\u00a0 The \u2018new\u2019 post-2009 expenses regime, headed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority<\/a>, is undoubtedly tighter and better regulated than the system that came before it<\/a>, but making value judgements on what is and what is not an acceptable expense is actually very difficult.\u00a0 MPs have long grumbled that IPSA is a bureaucratic nightmare, although few have dared say that in public.\u00a0 IPSA\u2019s challenge is to create a system that can be consistent, fair and flexible.\u00a0 MPs have different needs (i.e. if your constituency is Newcastle upon Tyne Central then you should surely be entitled to claim more in travel costs than if you represent, for example, London-based Twickenham) and they face different challenges in their daily work patterns; the expenses system needs to reflect this and needs to be quick enough on its feet to recognise the difference between legitimate and illegitimate claims.\u00a0 \u00a0If anyone reading this blog thinks they have the answer, then IPSA will no doubt be very keen to hear from you.<\/p>\n

On an altogether different note, the first week of the new term is always an exciting time for students on Sussex\u2019s MA in Corruption and Governance<\/a>.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 The internship and project part of the course commences.\u00a0 And, 2014 sees no less than 14 students involved in such things.\u00a0 Hazel Stephens and Kim Castle began working this week with police officers in the UK\u2019s International Proceeds of Corruption Unit at New Scotland Yard (see here<\/a> for an example of how the IPCU works), whilst Sam Weatherill has joined up with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Anti-Corruption<\/a> in Westminster.\u00a0 Michael Badham-Jones, Francisco Ortiz and Felicitas Nuehaus will be working alongside the Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit (OACU<\/a>) in the Square Mile, and no less than two different groups of students will be doing projects in conjunction with Transparency International in Berlin.\u00a0 Exciting times ahead!<\/p>\n

Dan Hough<\/p>\n

Director, Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption (SCSC)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knowing what works in terms of tackling corruption is not easy.\u00a0 In some places, it is straightforward enough to pinpoint what the problem is \u2013 a politician using an expenses regime for personal gain in order to, say, clean his…<\/span><\/p>\n

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