What we do
The Compliance Officer’s remit is defined in statute. It is:
• to conduct an investigation if the Compliance Officer has reason to believe that an MP may have received from IPSA an amount that should not have been allowed under the MPs’ Expenses Scheme; and
• to review, at the request of an MP, a determination by IPSA to refuse reimbursement for an expense claim, in whole or in part.
Investigations
The Compliance Officer for IPSA may conduct an investigation if he has reason to believe that an MP may have received from IPSA an amount that should not have been allowed under the MPs’ Expenses Scheme.
He may do so if he receives a complaint from a member of the public about a payment to an MP that is suspected or alleged to be outside the rules of the MPs’ Expenses Scheme, or if he receives a request from IPSA or an MP to investigate a payment.
He may also conduct an investigation on his own initiative, providing he has reason to believe that an MP may have received a payment that should not have been allowed.
Further details on investigations can be found here.
Reviews
The Compliance Officer will, at the request of an MP, conduct a review into a decision by IPSA to refuse an expense claim in whole or in part. He will, however, do so only after the MP has first asked IPSA to reconsider its decision. Further details on reviews can be found here.
The Acts governing IPSA and the Compliance Officer for IPSA can be found below:
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
Parliamentary Standards Act 2009