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Parliamentary Standards Act 2009

The hon. Gentleman's remarks on the separation of the administration and regulation of expenses are interesting and helpful, and I understand why those roles should be separate, but some media coverage might have been generated in part by the recommendation stating:"““The best arrangement would be for that separate body””—" the administration—"““to be within the House of Commons Service””." Some Members, and certainly I, feel that that is absolutely the last place to which the administration of expenses should go. A separate accounting firm might be able to administer them more cost-effectively, but please let us not return them to the House authorities.