This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23262503

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
MPs' pay: Watchdog calls for rise of more than £6,000 MPs' pay: Watchdog calls for rise of more than £6,000
(35 minutes later)
MPs' pay should be increased by £6,000 to £74,000 a year from 2015, the Commons expenses watchdog has said.MPs' pay should be increased by £6,000 to £74,000 a year from 2015, the Commons expenses watchdog has said.
But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) also recommends cuts to perks such as meal allowances and taxis and a less generous pension scheme.But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) also recommends cuts to perks such as meal allowances and taxis and a less generous pension scheme.
And "golden goodbyes" paid to retiring MPs could also be trimmed.And "golden goodbyes" paid to retiring MPs could also be trimmed.
But some MPs say such a pay rise would be out of step with pay elsewhere and could damage Parliament's reputation. The plan has been condemned by party leaders and some MPs who say Ipsa should go back to the drawing board.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who like PM David Cameron has said he will not take the increase, said it was "about the worst time to advocate a double digit pay increase for MPs". The watchdog is to consult on the rise but MPs can not block it because they handed control of the decision to the independent body in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal.
Speaking on London radio station LBC 97.3, Mr Clegg said "everyone has to be treated as fairly and equal in the public sector" and the public would find the proposed salary increase "incomprehensible". A Downing Street spokesman said: "The cost of politics should go down not up. And MPs' pay shouldn't go up while public sector pay is, rightly, being constrained."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who has said he will not take the increase, said it was "about the worst time to advocate a double digit pay increase for MPs," adding that the public would find it "incomprehensible".
'Fixes and fudges'
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he did not believe the rise should go ahead - and confirmed he would not take it if it did, but he said he was confident Ipsa would change its recommendation after a public backlash.
"I don't think MPs should be getting a 10% pay rise when nurses and teachers are facing either pay freezes or very low increases and people in the private sector are facing similar circumstances," said Mr Miliband.
Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised the proposed increase but a No 10 source declined to comment on whether he would be taking it. Pressed on the question, the PM's spokesman said: "it's not a pay rise, it's a proposal".
He pointed out the IPSA package was still to go out to consultation and Downing Street would be submitting its own response.
The Ipsa proposals include:The Ipsa proposals include:
Ipsa chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "The history of MPs' pay and pensions is a catalogue of fixes, fudges and failures to act. The package we put forward today represents the end of the era of MPs' remuneration being settled by MPs themselves.Ipsa chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "The history of MPs' pay and pensions is a catalogue of fixes, fudges and failures to act. The package we put forward today represents the end of the era of MPs' remuneration being settled by MPs themselves.
"For the first time, an independent body will decide what MPs should receive. We will do so in full view, and after consultation with the public.""For the first time, an independent body will decide what MPs should receive. We will do so in full view, and after consultation with the public."
'Totally wrong' 'Obscene'
Sir Ian told BBC Radio 5 Live MPs should be treated like "modern professionals" and part of the package was a "radical proposal" to introduce an annual "report card" to show the public what MPs did for their money.Sir Ian told BBC Radio 5 Live MPs should be treated like "modern professionals" and part of the package was a "radical proposal" to introduce an annual "report card" to show the public what MPs did for their money.
He said the pay rise proposal was "fair" because MPs' pay had "fallen back" over the years and they needed to properly rewarded for the job they did. He said the pay rise proposal was "fair" because MPs' pay had "fallen back" over the years and they needed to properly rewarded for the job they did, adding that the expenses scandal had been the result of too much pay restraint.
He said there was never a good time to increase MPs' pay, but said the changes were designed to "last a generation rather than just respond to the latest political issue", and taken together with the expenses reforms would save taxpayers money.He said there was never a good time to increase MPs' pay, but said the changes were designed to "last a generation rather than just respond to the latest political issue", and taken together with the expenses reforms would save taxpayers money.
"When you look at the package as a whole it is fair to the taxpayer and fair to MPs," he said. "When you look at the package as a whole it is fair to the taxpayer and fair to MPs," he told callers to the Victoria Derbyshire phone-in programme.
MPs used to decide their own pay but it was handed to Ipsa, an independent body, in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. He said he would over the next two months listen to the views of the public who had taken part in the consultation on the Ipsa website, but he believed the package was not over-generous and was in line with previous recommendations by the senior salaries review board and other bodies.
A stream of callers to the Victoria Derbyshire phone-in attacked the proposed pay rise, with one describing it as "obscene" and another asking Sir Ian: "What planet are you on?", although a handful of callers supported the package.
Sir Ian is paid £700 a day and works on average two days a week, which he said added up to an annual salary of between £60,00 and the "high 70s".
MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year.MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year.
The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015.The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015.
Some MPs have attacked the proposals, saying Ipsa should have taken greater account of the state of the wider economy and the pay freeze across the public and private sector.Some MPs have attacked the proposals, saying Ipsa should have taken greater account of the state of the wider economy and the pay freeze across the public and private sector.
It has been reported that MPs' current final salary pension scheme will be downgraded to a career average system.
And the £15 allowance MPs are allowed to claim for dinner when they are required to stay in the Commons after 19:30 will be scrapped.
Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said it was "inappropriate at a time when every public sector worker is being asked to take a 1% rise" that MPs should be out of line.Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said it was "inappropriate at a time when every public sector worker is being asked to take a 1% rise" that MPs should be out of line.
Labour MP John Mann said: "It really gives us all a bad reputation, a bad name. It's been bad enough after the expenses scandal and, frankly, if this was to go through it would be catastrophic for the reputation of Parliament."Labour MP John Mann said: "It really gives us all a bad reputation, a bad name. It's been bad enough after the expenses scandal and, frankly, if this was to go through it would be catastrophic for the reputation of Parliament."
He said MPs needed "to be in the real world" and Ipsa had got its calculations "totally wrong". MPs will not get a vote on the pay decision but Mr Mann said he hoped to force one in the Commons before the next election in 2015, which he said Ipsa could not ignore.
"Why should we be compared with doctors? Why not compare us with cleaners?" he told the BBC News Channel, adding that current MPs' pay was "perfectly reasonable" and "we should not get more than the rest of the country".
MPs will not get a vote on the pay decision but Mr Mann said he hoped to force one in the Commons before the next election in 2015, which Ipsa could not ignore.
A senior Labour source said: "Our view is clear that any decision about MPs' pay must reflect wider economic circumstances and what is happening in the rest of the public sector.
"It must be consistent with what is happening to nurses, teachers and others in the public sector as well as conditions in the private sector."
Pay freeze
In a speech last week, Sir Ian said the watchdog had been "impressed by the idea that MPs' pay should move in line with the fortunes of those they represent, such that MPs' pay would be indexed to movements in national average earnings. If the average wage goes up, MPs' pay would go up. If the average wage falls, MPs' pay would fall."
MPs used to vote on their own pay but from 2008, recommended pay rises were made by the Senior Salaries Review Body which were supposed to take place automatically.
However its recommendation for a 1% rise in 2011-12 was voted down by MPs, at the instigation of the government, because of a two-year pay freeze imposed on the public sector.
In May 2011, powers to set and administer MPs' salaries passed to Ipsa, which went on to freeze MPs' pay for 2012-13.
MPs and members of the public will be able to take part in a consultation before Ipsa publishes its final plans - expected in the autumn - which would then come into force without the need for further legislation.