Exclusive:MPs employing family members gave them pay rises well above inflation after the pandemic

Almost a dozen MPs who employ family members gave their loved ones pay rises in excess of £5,000 over two years, well above the rate of inflation.

Of the MPs’ family members who are employed as staffers, half have seen their pay move up at least one £5,000 pay grade between 2019/2020 and 2021/2022, according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) data.

Payrises of more than £5,000

There are currently 80 MPs who employ family members, after a ban on hiring so-called connected parties in 2017 included an exemption for any members of staff already employed.

One MP told NationalWorld that employing family members represents good value for money to the taxpayer and suggested the ban should be scrapped.

IPSA does not publish the exact salary of MPs’ family members, but does provide information on their pay-band, within a range of £5,000.

A family member who has seen their pay move up one band could have received a raise of anywhere between 1p and £5,000, while an increase of two pay bands means a raise of between £5,000 and £9,999.99.

Inflation averaged 1.7% between 2019 and 2021, meaning someone earning £30,000 in 2019 would have seen their pay increase to £31,038.27 in 2021 if their pay had kept pace with inflation during that time.

As of 2021/2022, all MPs’ staff receive a standardised pay increase each year, set by IPSA, but each MP can opt out of this for individual staff members, either to have their wage remain the same or go up by more than the standard amount.

Of the 11 connected parties employed by MPs who’ve received pay rises of more than £5,000, four have moved from a part-time to full-time role during that time.

The other seven are:

• Conservative MP Robert Buckland’s wife is employed part-time as a senior caseworker, earning between £20,000 and £24,999.99. In 2019/2020, she was paid between £10,000 and £14,999.99 
• Labour’s Alex Cunningham employs his son as a part-time senior caseworker, earning between £30,000 and £34,999.99, up from between £20,000 and £24,999.99
• Conservative Simon Hoare’s wife is employed as a full-time office manager, on between £45,000 and £49,999.99. She previously earned between £35,000 and £39,999.99.
• Labour MP George Howarth employs his wife as a full-time office manager. She earns between £45,000 and £49,999.99, up from between £35,000 and £39,999.99.
• Labour’s Kate Osamor employs her son full-time as her chief of staff, earning between £40,000 and £44,999.99, up from between £30,000 and £34,999.99 previously.
• Conservative Laurence Robertson’s wife is employed as his full-time senior parliamentary assistant. She earns between £50,000 and £54,999.99, up from between £40,000 and £44,999.99
• Labour MP Graham Stringer employs his step-daughter as a part-time parliamentary assistant, earning between £30,000 and £34,999.99. She previously earned between £20,000 and £24,999.99

NationalWorld contacted all of these MPs to ask whether these pay increases reflected a change in role or responsibilities and whether their other staff received similar pay increases.

Only Kate Osamor responded, saying: “At the start of every financial year all of my staff receive a pay rise, with the amount being determined by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and the funds available in my members staffing budget.”

IPSA publishes specific pay data for MPs’ family members, but the same level of information is not available for all members of staff.

What are the rules on MPs employing family members?

The roles MPs employ family members to carry out vary, from assistant to senior researcher and office manager. Some earn much more than the national average for their roles.

MPs were allowed to employ family members, up until 2017, when the practice was banned for new hires.

Prior to 2010, there were no restrictions on the employment of MPs’ families, but changes to the rules in May 2010 meant MPs could only employ one connected party, and they had to be paid within the IPSA pay ranges.

Up until 2013/2014, Conservative MP Laurence Robertson employed two connected parties - his partner and his (now ex) wife.

In 2017, a review by IPSA noted that the practice “can be perceived as providing personal gain to MPs and their families at taxpayers’ expense” and agreed with the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which said it is “out of step with modern employment practice.”

The 2017 IPSA report concluded that “the employment of connected parties is out of step with modern employment practice” primarily because it hampers “fair and open recruitment and management of staff.”

The report revealed that an MP’s staff member said the practice “does not help the perception of MPs staff as professionals” and quotes one unnamed MP as saying the practice was “unjust and encouraged nepotism.”

MPs arguing against a ban said that there is significant value in “having people close to them whom they can trust to support them” and that connected parties “represent good value for money” because they are willing to work “well beyond the hours that other staff would be prepared to work.”