03/10/2007
The Scottish Parliament will tomorrow (Thursday 4 October) publish online the final quarter year’s information on MSPs' allowances claimed during the financial year 2006/07 and the first quarter of allowances claimed during the financial year 2007/2008.
In keeping with the Parliament’s commitment to publish MSPs' allowances expenditure, the move will complete the second whole year’s data published online in a searchable format and begin the process for the current financial year.
Quarter 4 covering the period January to March 2007 together with the first quarter for 2007/08 covering the period April to June 2007 will be added to the Scottish Parliament’s website at 10.00 am on Thursday.
Members of the public can view MSPs' claims and supporting data in respect of allowances claimed while carrying out parliamentary duties. The allowances information for 2005/06 and the first three quarters of 2006/2007 (April – December 2006) are already available to search online.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body announced in June 2007 a full scale review of parliamentary allowances, with a panel reporting as soon as practicable, and no later than March 2008. Taking a ‘first principles’ approach, the review is examining all areas of allowances, including the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance.
Background
The search tool allows the public to search for specific information by using any combination of four selection criteria:
- By selecting the relevant Financial Year Claim Month or range of Claim Months.
- By selecting one or more MSPs.
- By selecting the allowance type; whether it is all allowances, some, or just one. This would include allowance types such as Edinburgh Accommodation, Members’ Support and Members’ Travel.
- By selecting the expenditure type claimed under each allowance type; all, some, or just one. This could include searching by motor mileage claims, utilities costs or rented accommodation costs.
Online information is not provided on matters such as personal security, bank details or data on third parties.
The search facility can be accessed via the User Guide, which also provides background on each of the allowances and gives the rates for 2006/07.