Broxtowe MP delares family work interest
02 February, 2008
Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer has become one of the latest MP’s to declare that he has a family member working for him.Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, has urged MPs to declare their staffing arrangements and said he was considering launching an inquiry into how expenses are paid.
His intervention comes after a Tory MP was suspended by the Commons for overpaying his son.
Derek Conway, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, has already been censured for overpaying Freddie's parliamentary allowances and has apologised to MPs.
”A note on my own staffing”
Nick Palmer, said: “The controversy about Derek Conway MP's family, a note on my own staffing.
“My wife works for me eight hours a week from home, helping me with administrative, secretarial and research work, and is paid a fifth of the recommended secretarial pay.
“MPs are entitled to three full-time paid staff, but I've organised it as a job-share and have six other part-time team members, of whom two share the running of the Westminster office and the rest work up here on casework and on non-partisan newsletters.
“Cllrs Pat Lally (Nottinghamshire County Councillor for Beeston South and Attenborough and Broxtowe Borough Councillor for Beeston Central) and Steve Barber, (Borough Councillor for Beeston Rylands) both work part of the week for me and the rest on council work.
”Seems a pity to me”
“There have been proposals to ban all MPs from employing members of their family as staff in future. That seems to me a pity - there are numerous examples of effective partnerships and it allows for help outside normal working hours.
“I work pretty much round the clock, and it's helpful to have an assistant available whenever needed.
“However, it needs to be transparent, and the pay strictly proportionate to the commitment: I personally think it would be better if all MPs' staff were directly employed and their pay rates set by the House authorities, who would be free to check the work being done whenever they wanted to, and that may well be an outcome of the current controversy.”
By editor@nottinghamng9.co.uk.
