Revised Green Book and audit of Members' allowances - first report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal minutes (Paperback)

This report from the Members Estimate Committee, "Revised Green Book and Audit of Members' Allowances (HC 142)", contains a fully revised version of the "Green Book" and has made proposals for a more comprehensive system of audit and assurance for Members' allowances. "The Green Book", which sets out the rules on Members' allowances, has been thoroughly revised with the help of independent external advisers Keith Bradford (nominated by the CBI) and Kay Carberry (nominated by the TUC). It includes: rules intended to ensure that Members are reimbursed only for costs properly incurred in the performance of their parliamentary duties; a list of principles to guide Members in making claims, such as that claims must only be for expenditure that was necessary for a Member to properly perform his or her parliamentary duties, and the requirement to ensure value for money; and, a requirement for receipts for any item exceeding GBP 25. The audit proposals include the following: the House's external auditor (the National Audit Office) for the first time to conduct the audit on the same basis as for any other public body, examining evidence such as receipts; the House's Internal Audit service to have the same access to evidence as the external auditor and to give a high priority to the audit of Members' allowances; a new Operational Assurance Unit within the House's Department of Resources to advise Members, maintain standards and ensure compliance with the rules; and, new arrangements for handling serious instances of non-compliance identified internally (i.e. reporting initially to the Members Estimate Audit Committee, which has external members).