Sunak warns MPs against holding Xmas parties at taxpayers' expense

Rishi Sunak warns MPs against holding Christmas parties at taxpayers’ expense: PM tells politicians they must ‘justify all spending to their constituents’ after ‘bonkers’ ruling by Commons spending watchdog is condemned

• MPs have been told they can host Christmas parties paid for by the taxpayer
• They will be allowed to expense ‘the cost of festive decorations for their office’
• But Rishi Sunak warns they will need to ‘justify all spending to their constituents’ 

Rishi Sunak today warned MPs they will need to ‘justify all spending to their constituents’ after it was revealed they can host Christmas parties at taxpayers’ expense.

There is growing anger at the decision by the watchdog responsible for MPs’ expenses to allow the cost of food, refreshments and festive decorations to be billed to the public.

A number of MPs have condemned the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) for its ‘bonkers’ advice, which comes amid the brutal cost-of-living crisis being suffered by families across the country.

The Prime Minister waded into the row this morning as Downing Street insisted Mr Sunak did not intend to bill taxpayers for any festive events he might be holding.

‘Questions on these sorts of arrangements are for Ipsa, they’re independent of both Parliament and Government, they set the allowances,’ the PM’s official spokesman said.

‘But the PM certainly doesn’t intend to use this and his view is that MPs will want to justify all spending to their constituents.’

Mr Sunak’s intervention came as senior figures from all parties insisted they would not charge taxpayers for their Christmas parties despite being allowed to do so for the first time.

A string of MPs said they would not take advantage of generous expenses allowances for festive gatherings set by the Commons pay body and revealed by the Daily Mail.

Many stressed that they had never asked to use public money for decorations and refreshments – and hit out at Ipsa for allowing this.

Rishi Sunak today warned MPs they will need to ‘justify all spending to their constituents’ after it was revealed they can host Christmas parties at taxpayers’ expense

Downing Street insisted the PM did not intend to bill taxpayers for any festive events he might be holding 

Labour’s Jess Phillips was among the first to speak out, writing on Twitter: ‘Just want to say no one asked for this, no one I know will use it. The guidance wasn’t made by MPs and yet we will be pilloried for it.

‘I think it’s really irresponsible to issue this guidance as if MPs have been clamouring for it when I’ve literally never heard anyone do that.’

She said every year her staff ‘dust off’ a tree and decorate it with tinsel and baubles from discount chain Wilko that she paid for herself.

And she added: ‘I will throw a Christmas party for my staff, it will be in my home where I will cook and pay for all of the food and drink. Once again I reiterate that there was no clamour for this from MPs and it’s stupid.’

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said the guidance from Ipsa – which allows MPs to claim back the cost of food, drink, refreshments and decorations for office parties but not alcohol – was ‘bonkers’.

‘It has missed the mood of the age if that’s what they’re saying,’ he told Talk TV.

‘There are lots of things we have to spend taxpayers’ money on in terms of providing offices and services and so on. I’m afraid Christmas parties seem to me a bit of a strange pick, particularly this year of all years.’

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Ipsa, which sets pay and allowances for MPs, had been naïve.

‘I doubt anyone will be using it. People will not have been asking for it. And Ipsa need to be a bit more savvy in terms of how they present what they’re doing on this,’ he told Times Radio.

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker tweeted a photo of today’s Daily Mail front page accompanied by a string of shocked face emojis and wrote: ‘I wouldn’t think for a moment of claiming for a staff Christmas party.’

Tory backbencher Gareth Bacon pledged: ‘I will not be hosting any parties paid for by taxpayers.

‘No MP asked for this, and no MP should use it. It’s a ridiculous decision taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.’

And fellow Conservative Simon Fell insisted: ‘Whenever I take my team out, I pay for it out of my own pocket.’

He called on Ipsa to reverse the ‘tone deaf’ decision to allow claims for Christmas events from MPs’ office costs budgets.

However Ipsa defended its policy as ‘normal employment practice, saying in a statement: ‘As employers, it is entirely appropriate that MPs should, if they see fit, reward their staff with a modest gathering at Christmas.

‘We are clear that alcohol is not included, that any event must represent value for money, is subject to publication for transparency and must not be party political in nature.

‘To suggest that there is anything inappropriate in this is simply incorrect.’

Labour’s Jess Phillips was among the first to speak out as she condemned Ipsa’s decision on Twitter

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker tweeted a photo of today’s Daily Mail front page accompanied by a string of shocked face emojis

Tory backbencher Gareth Bacon hit out at the ‘ridiculous decision’ by Ipsa and said he would ‘not be hosting any parties paid for by taxpayers’

The new guidance was published by Ipsa to answer ‘frequently asked questions about the use of budgets for celebrations to support MPs and their staff in conducting their parliamentary activities during the festive season’.

It stated: ‘MPs can claim the costs of food and refreshments for an office festive event under the discretion allowed as “hospitality”. ‘As with all claims, value for money should be considered and all claims will be published in the usual manner. No claims are allowed for alcohol.’

In addition they can claim back the cost of refreshments for a ‘festive event or gathering within the constituency’ – but it must be ‘within a parliamentary context’ and not ‘purely a social event’.

MPs are told they can use their annual office costs budget – £31,620 for those in London seats and £28,570 for those outside the capital – to ‘claim the cost of festive decorations for their office’.

But they can’t use their expenses to pay for outdoor displays. They can claim the cost of printing and posting ‘celebratory cards’, but are advised these ‘should not be sent to large groups or all constituents as there is a risk this may not represent value for money and could be considered self-promotional’.

And they cannot issue a calendar as ‘this is not considered a parliamentary activity’. 

Ipsa stated: ‘There is discretion within budgets for some items, but we would remind MPs that claims should represent value for money, especially in the current economic climate, must be expressly parliamentary in nature and should not be party-political, campaigning, or self-promotional.’

Even before the expenses scandal of 2009 – when leaked files led to outrage about lavish expenditure and the jailing of six MPs and peers for fraud – claims for Christmas decorations were not permitted.

Labour’s Dame Vera Baird, then solicitor general, once put through receipts for more than £200 worth of artificial trees, baubles and snowflake lights but it was rejected by officials.

She said when the December 2006 claim was revealed that she paid for the decorations herself and was grateful for the official guidance on how the rules should be interpreted.

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