Written question asked by David Winnick (Labour) on Monday, 12 July 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 July 2010. It was answered by Charles Walker (Conservative) on Thursday, 15 July 2010 on behalf of the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Members

Question: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority what further consideration has been given for claims by hon. Members to be made on paper with all supporting evidence.

Answer: IPSA has advised me that the merits of introducing a paper-based system for claiming expenses were considered during the start-up phase of IPSA. It was concluded that in line with current expectations of IT-led delivery within the public sector, it would be inappropriate to design a new expenses process which was not based at least in part on an IT-led solution.IPSA remains of the view that an IT-led, rather than paper-based, system is most appropriate. Using an IT-led solution allows IPSA to achieve a high level of transparency more easily and cheaply than an equivalent manual approach. It will also allow any future changes to processes to be more easily implemented.IPSA does not intend to introduce a parallel, paper-based system for MPs' expenses.

Secondary information