Members’ pay and expenses and ministerial salaries 2021/22

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is responsible for determining and paying Members’ salaries; for preparing and regularly reviewing and revising a scheme under which allowances are paid; and for paying those allowances.

It has no role in determining or paying ministerial salaries.

Members’ salaries

From 1 April 2021, the annual salary of a Member of Parliament remained at £81,932, the salary that applied from 1 April 2020. IPSA had concluded that given the impact of the Covid pandemic, “applying the forthcoming official statistic for public sector earnings growth would result in a salary increase for MPs that would be inconsistent with the wider economic data and would not reflect the reality that many constituents are facing this year”.

In July 2015, IPSA had determined that MPs’ salaries should rise in line with public sector pay. IPSA’s revised determination, confirming the 2021 pay freeze, was published in its March 2021 Consultation report: periodic adjustments to MPs’ salaries (PDF).

Under section 4A of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, IPSA is required to undertake a statutory review of Members’ pay in the first year after a general election.

Following the December 2019 general election, IPSA launched the statutory consultation, the Periodic Adjustment to MPs’ Pay, on 8 October 2020. It proposed retaining the link between public sector earnings and Members’ pay. The consultation closed on 6 October 2020. As noted above the consultation concluded that MPs’ pay should be frozen in April 2021.

In July 2021, IPSA launched a further consultation about the mechanism that IPSA should use to update MPs’ pay. It proposed that for the next three years it should have “some bounded discretion” to depart from the public sector pay figure. In September 2021, its report Consultation report: mechanism for updating MPs’ salaries (PDF) confirmed this approach and included a further revised determination.

On 1 March 2022, IPSA announced that MPs’ pay will increase to £84,144 from 1 April 2022.

Members’ expenses

Since the 2010 General Election, responsibility for devising a scheme for and paying Members’ expenses has rested with IPSA.

IPSA undertook a comprehensive review of the Scheme, which began with a consultation issued in May 2016.

The review identified a number of changes that would be implemented following a general election, which at the time was scheduled for May 2020. The early General Election in June 2017 meant that some changes were implemented in the course of the 2017/18 financial year.

Following IPSA’s statutory review (PDF) of MPs’ pay at the beginning of the 2017 Parliament, it made alterations (PDF) to the arrangements for MPs who lost their seats at a general election. It introduced a new Winding-Up Payment for MPs – two months’ net salary for MPs defeated at any general election and for MPs standing down at an early general election.

The 13th Edition of IPSA’s Scheme of MPs’ Staffing Business Costs (PDF) came into force on 1 April 2021. The main expense budgets provided in IPSA’s scheme; additional funding made available in the light of the coronavirus pandemic; and the maximum amounts that Members can claim in 2021/22 are set out below:

Notes
# “in response to the exceptional circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic”
* net of tax and National Insurance contributions

Ministerial salaries

Ministers who are Members of the House of Commons receive a Member’s salary and a ministerial salary. Ministers who are Members of the House of Lords receive a ministerial salary but they cannot claim Lords Attendance Allowance.

At present ministers in both Houses do not receive their full ministerial salaries. Currently ministers in the House of Commons receive their MP’s salary and the following additional amounts as ministers:

Prime Minister:                                                           £75,440

Cabinet Minister                                                         £67,505

Minister of State:                                                       £31,680

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State:                      £22,375

On assuming office in May 2010, the Coalition Government announced that ministers’ total pay would be cut by 5% and then frozen for the duration of that Parliament. The previous Labour administration had already frozen ministerial salaries through refusing increases in both ministerial and Members’ salaries, so the actual earnings of ministers did not equate to their entitlements.

The Coalition Government made an Order in 2011 to set ministerial salaries in accordance with its May 2010 announcement. However, subsequent increases in Members’ pay led to ministers in the House of Commons waiving part of their ministerial salary to prevent their total remuneration increasing and meant that the salaries drawn by ministers were different to those stated in the legislation.

The ministerial element of a minister’s salary continued to be frozen following the May 2015 General Election. Since then, ministers’ total earning have increased as they have received increases in the MP’s salary.

In May 2019, the Leader of the House of Lords announced that Lords ministers’ pay would increase. Reflecting the increases Commons ministers had received in their parliamentary salaries since May 2015, Lords ministerial salaries increased by 3.3% and in April 2019, they received their full entitlement.

In 2020/21 and 2021/22 ministerial salaries were frozen. Although salary entitlements increased in line with the legislation, ministers in the Commons continued to receive the same level of ministerial salary as they had since 1 April 2014; and the salaries of ministers in the House of Lords were frozen at the rate payable since 1 April 2019.

A Library Briefing Paper on Members’ pay, expenses and ministerial salaries in 2020/21 is available on the Commons Library website:

• Members’ pay and expenses and ministerial salaries 2020/21, CBP09148, 25 February 2021

Correction

On 11.07.22 we corrected the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State additional amount from £22,475 to the correct amount of £22,375 in the summary of this briefing.