Members’ expenses

Report: 12
Date: 29 January 2004
By: Clerk

Summary

This report requests a decision on issues in relation to the scheme of members’ expenses.

A. Recommendation

That the Authority decides:

1. whether or not to include the payment of the congestion charge and parking charges in the Scheme for the Payment of Members’ Expenses;
2. to introduce a three month deadline for the presentation of claims during the financial year (subject to the Clerk being able to exercise discretion in exceptional circumstances) and an end of year deadline of 30 April

B. Supporting information

1. There are two issues on which a decision is sought from the committee:

Congestion/parking charges

2. The current expenses scheme does not provide for members to reclaim the cost of the congestion charge. A request has been received from a member for this to be reimbursed. Relevant factors for the Authority to consider include:

• The Greater London Authority specifically do not meet the cost of the congestion charge for members, presumably in line with the GLA’s commitment to public transport
• The MPS only pay the congestion charge for a limited number of staff working shifts when there is limited public transport. MPA staff cannot reclaim the cost of the congestion charge
• The MPA Members’ Expenses Scheme does include a mileage allowance for car use, although the emphasis is on the use of public transport
• The Authority’s decision on whether or not to meet the cost of the congestion charge should also apply to parking charges.
• If the Authority decides to meet the cost of the congestion charge, it is recommended that it is on the basis of an undertaking from the member on each occasion that the only purpose for bringing their car into central London was MPA business and that public transport was not a reasonable option

Deadline for claims

3. At present the Members’ Expenses Scheme does not place a deadline on the making of claims. Some claims are made months after the event. This can cause problems in forecasting expenditure during the year. More importantly, it can make validation of the claim difficult and indeed can make it difficult for a member to remember what meetings etc they have attended for which they need to claim expenses.

4. These points were made in a recent External Audit report on payment of members’ expenses. Their recommendation was that “Members should submit claims on a regular basis to ensure that the figure disclosed in the accounts is as accurate as possible. In addition to this, a cut-off date should be introduced at year end to ensure that all claims remaining outstanding at the year end are accrued for.”

5. It is recommended that a statement be included in the Scheme of Expenses to the effect that no claims will be accepted three months or more after the event, but that in exceptional and individual circumstances, the Clerk may waive this requirement. It is also recommended that an end of year deadline of 30 April be imposed, again with discretion given to the Clerk to waive this in exceptional and individual circumstances.

Co-ordination and Policing Committee recommendations

6. The Co-ordination and Policing Committee considered these issues at its meeting on 15 December 2003. By majority vote, it decided to recommend to the Authority that the payment of congestion and parking charges should not be included in the scheme. It decided to recommend a three month deadline for the presentation of expenses claims. It did not consider the proposal to adopt a 30 April deadline at the end of the financial year, as the External Audit report that recommended this was only received after the meeting.

C. Equality and diversity implications

No specific implications.

D. Financial implications

Any additional costs must be contained within the budget.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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