Bulletin, 16 March (Data publication, 2023-24 Scheme, Annual Survey Findings, Constituency office utility bills 2023-24 and Payroll forms)

Date published: 16 March 2023

We have published the 2023-24 version of our Scheme.

Read the fifteenth edition of the Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs for 2023-24.

We have also published the findings from our Annual Survey of MPs and Staff.

This week's bulletin contains information on:

  • Data publication – 16 March 2023

  • Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs 2023-24

  • Findings from Annual Survey

  • Constituency office utility bills 2023-24

  • Payroll forms

Data publication – 16 March 2023

IPSA today published figures for business costs incurred by MPs in October and November 2022.

This is the latest in our routine bi-monthly publication of MPs’ business costs.

The next publication is due on 18 May 2023.

For more information, visit MPs’ staffing and business costs.

Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs 2023-24

We have published the Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs for 2023-24, which will be effective from 1 April 2023.

The new Scheme shows the changes to budget amounts and staff salary ranges for the new financial year, which were announced recently.

Other changes to the Scheme are limited but include:

  • Amendments to the rules on the homeworking allowance to reflect the changes made and announced last summer. As of August 2022, the allowance is payable only to home-based staff and allocated to the staffing budget.

  • Amendments to the rules on disability assistance funding to clarify the provision of funding for workplace adjustments.

  • Removal of the previous rules on security assistance funding, reflecting the transfer of this funding to the House of Commons, which will take effect from 1 April 2023.

Findings from Annual Survey

Today we published findings from the Annual Survey of MPs and Staff which was open between 6 December and 23 December 2022.

We conduct an annual survey to help us understand how well we are meeting the needs of our customers.

This is one of our key opportunities to seek feedback from MPs and staff and also allows us to gauge our performance over the year.

We are pleased to see a significant improvement in overall user satisfaction this year and will continue to work with you to improve our service.

Read the Annual Survey of MPs and Staff.

Constituency office utility bills 2023-24

As you will know households and businesses continue to be affected by the unprecedented increase in energy costs and we have seen some constituency office budgets impacted by increases to bills that are outside of your control.

Some suggestions about how to help mitigate and manage the impact of higher bills can be found on IPSA Online including:

  • Speak to your account manager if you need additional support budgeting or if you are running into difficulties. 

  • Understand your current provision and how this could affect your costs over the coming year. For instance offices with a fixed-term contract that is expiring could see large price increases.

  • Ensure that you have a recent meter reading so that you avoid unexpected costs in the future.

  • Factor in potential energy costs when prioritising your office spend for 2023/24.

IPSA wishes to support those offices where these costs are adversely impacting services to constituents despite taking a prudent approach to spending decisions and we encourage you to speak to your Account Manager in the first instance.

For more information, visit Constituency office utility bills for 2023-24.

Payroll forms

The Reward & Recognition form has been updated and is now live.

For more information, visit Rewarding and recognising your team.

In October, we announced that IPSA would suspend the 2% cap on the amount of the staffing budget that can be used for Reward & Recognition payments, for the rest of the 2022-23 financial year.

This was to provide greater flexibility for MPs to make pay and reward decisions, particularly in light of the cost of living pressures being faced by staff.

We will continue to suspend this cap for the 2023-24 financial year. The limit on the amount of Reward & Recognition payments that can be made to an individual (£1,000 per staff member per financial year) remains.

Also, the contractual changes form has been amended as per our guidance for the automatic pay increases from April 2023.

To view the form, visit Making contractual changes.