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This is from The Times.
I would love to see these people suffer from their own Austerity measures.
The number of MPs employing family members has surged over the past year after a major increase in staffing allowances brought in by the expenses watchdog.
One in four MPs employs relatives or business associates, with the number rising by more than 8 per cent on last year.
The sharp increase in staffing costs has pushed MPs’ expenses to a record high, breaking through the barrier set in 2008-09 when the expenses scandal provoked outrage as some politicians made lavish and fraudulent claims.
It was revealed by figures published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which was introduced to overhaul the system in the wake of the expenses crisis.
It also emerged that 39 MPs overspent on their staffing budget in 2013-14, despite 11 of those MPs already having been granted an “uplift” in their six-figure budget.
MPs who represent London seats are allowed to spend £144,000 on staff after the boost in staffing allowances in 2012. Those outside the capital can spend up to £137,200 a year.
Those who breached their staffing budget included two leading Lib Dems: Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, who overspent by almost £20,000, and Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, who just topped the spending cap by £340. Among Labour MPs, the shadow ministers Jim Murphy, Lilian Greenwood, Sharon Hodgson and Julie Hilling all missed their staffing budget targets.
Mr Alexander was the eighth biggest spender and one of a dozen MPs whose claims exceeded £200,000.
Although Ipsa made sweeping changes in 2010, MPs claimed for a total of £103.06 million in the last financial year, up 5 per cent on last year and £700,000 more than in 2008-09.
The expenses watchdog said the rising costs were due to an increase of up to 25 per cent in the staffing allowance, which was introduced two years ago to compensate for “increased workloads and unpaid overtime”.
“We concluded that the level of staffing was no longer sufficient,” a spokesman for Ipsa said. He said MPs were still “catching up” with the increased allowance available to them.
Ipsa said its changes had saved the taxpayer £58 million. It added that in real terms, the previous 2008-09 record would come to £113 million.
Among the 168 MPs using their staff allowance to employ relatives or business associates are four Cabinet members. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, Stephen Crabb, the Welsh secretary and Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, all employ their wives.
Two more Tory MPs — Christopher Chope and Peter Bone — employ their wives Christine and Jeanette on salaries of up to £50,000 a year. Despite paying their wives salaries in the higher-rate tax bands, the pair were opposed to the minimum wage.
Three quarters of those who overspent on staffing have officially agreed with Ipsa to reduce their staffing costs.
Sir Ian Kennedy, Ipsa’s chairman, said: “The information we’re publishing shows that about 90 per cent of the costs go on staffing and running an office: unsurprising given that MPs operate the equivalent of 650 small businesses.”
However John O’Connell, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the public would be “deeply concerned” at the rising cost of Westminster politics.
I would love to see these people suffer from their own Austerity measures.
The number of MPs employing family members has surged over the past year after a major increase in staffing allowances brought in by the expenses watchdog.
One in four MPs employs relatives or business associates, with the number rising by more than 8 per cent on last year.
The sharp increase in staffing costs has pushed MPs’ expenses to a record high, breaking through the barrier set in 2008-09 when the expenses scandal provoked outrage as some politicians made lavish and fraudulent claims.
It was revealed by figures published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which was introduced to overhaul the system in the wake of the expenses crisis.
It also emerged that 39 MPs overspent on their staffing budget in 2013-14, despite 11 of those MPs already having been granted an “uplift” in their six-figure budget.
MPs who represent London seats are allowed to spend £144,000 on staff after the boost in staffing allowances in 2012. Those outside the capital can spend up to £137,200 a year.
Those who breached their staffing budget included two leading Lib Dems: Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, who overspent by almost £20,000, and Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, who just topped the spending cap by £340. Among Labour MPs, the shadow ministers Jim Murphy, Lilian Greenwood, Sharon Hodgson and Julie Hilling all missed their staffing budget targets.
Mr Alexander was the eighth biggest spender and one of a dozen MPs whose claims exceeded £200,000.
Although Ipsa made sweeping changes in 2010, MPs claimed for a total of £103.06 million in the last financial year, up 5 per cent on last year and £700,000 more than in 2008-09.
The expenses watchdog said the rising costs were due to an increase of up to 25 per cent in the staffing allowance, which was introduced two years ago to compensate for “increased workloads and unpaid overtime”.
“We concluded that the level of staffing was no longer sufficient,” a spokesman for Ipsa said. He said MPs were still “catching up” with the increased allowance available to them.
Ipsa said its changes had saved the taxpayer £58 million. It added that in real terms, the previous 2008-09 record would come to £113 million.
Among the 168 MPs using their staff allowance to employ relatives or business associates are four Cabinet members. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, Stephen Crabb, the Welsh secretary and Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, all employ their wives.
Two more Tory MPs — Christopher Chope and Peter Bone — employ their wives Christine and Jeanette on salaries of up to £50,000 a year. Despite paying their wives salaries in the higher-rate tax bands, the pair were opposed to the minimum wage.
Three quarters of those who overspent on staffing have officially agreed with Ipsa to reduce their staffing costs.
Sir Ian Kennedy, Ipsa’s chairman, said: “The information we’re publishing shows that about 90 per cent of the costs go on staffing and running an office: unsurprising given that MPs operate the equivalent of 650 small businesses.”
However John O’Connell, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the public would be “deeply concerned” at the rising cost of Westminster politics.
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god knows how they'll manage on their proposed 9% pay rise, the **** s 
reduce the number of members of parliament to 400
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