Expenses watchdog launches review

House of Commons The IPSA was set up as a result of the Commons expenses scandal of 2009
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Parliament’s expenses watchdog is launching a public consultation after criticism over the way it is run.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) chairman Sir Ian Kennedy has told the BBC he believes the revamped system is “working well”.

However, some MPs are pressing for the IPSA to be scrapped – saying it is too bureaucratic and costly.

The public consultation will last eight weeks and give MPs and the public a chance to suggest further reforms.

The IPSA was set up as a result of the Commons expenses scandal of 2009.

Sir Ian said the IPSA had been a success, pointing to the fact there had been no significant abuses of the expenses system since the IPSA was established as evidence that “MPs are behaving”.

He has already said he does not believe major changes are needed.

BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith says that is a view certain to infuriate Sir Ian’s Parliamentary critics, some of whom are calling for him to resign and the IPSA to be abolished.

Last month, Prime Minister David Cameron told a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs the parliamentary expenses system was “not acceptable” and must change.

He said it was “anti-family” and was causing a “lot of pain and difficulty”, and he wanted a better system in place by April.

Issues raised include MPs not being able to use expenses to transport their children to and from their constituency.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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