A NEW system of members “swiping in and out” of the Houses of Parliament could help avoid some of the reported abuses of the attendance allowance system, according to a Scots MP.
Tommy Sheppard, SNP member for Edinburgh East said such a system would also enhance security in the Commons and the Lords.
He has written to authorities at the House of Lords suggesting the new attendance system for peers, which would also help establish the length of time peers – who claim a daily £300 attendance allowance simply for coming into the building – actually spend there.
He said such behaviour is “simply unacceptable” and adds to the argument that the House of Lords is an “affront to democracy”.
“There are so many shortcomings in the way the House of Lords functions – it is an utter anachronism,” said Sheppard.
“My suggestions are aimed at increasing their security and that of MPs – but accountability of peers is also key in this proposal. Members of the House of Lords operate under such privileged rules – which are clearly open to abuse – and it is simply unacceptable.
“As with anyone receiving public funds, peers should be open to scrutiny about how much time they are involved in debates or committees. My suggestion is that by swiping in and out of the building – that will at least be a public record of duration of attendance and value for money.
“There are now over 800 lords and we know that the Tories want to increase their number even more whilst decreasing the size of the House of Commons. This is just an affront to democracy – and while we have to put up with this laughable chamber – we should insist on greater accountability.”
Sheppard wrote to Eric Hepburn, the director of Parliamentary Security at the Houses of Parliament, following Sir Jon Murphy’s review of the security in the Parliamentary Estate after the terrorist attack in March.
Action on that is expected to be taken this autumn, when all security passes will be replaced.
Sheppard said the system would operate in a similar way to travel cards, adding: “This would allow you and your staff to have an accurate picture of exactly which pass-holders were on the state at any one time.
In his letter, Sheppard continued: “I would also hope that recording the entry and exit of pass holders to the estate would allow information to be readily collated on the length of time spent on the estate by various groups of pass holders.
“Although not a security matter I also believe that it would be in the interests of transparency and accountability for the public to know how long their parliamentary representatives – in both Houses – spend here each week.”
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