To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost has been of establishing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) including preparation of the report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life on hon. Members’ expenses and allowances and the appointments to the IPSA board made to date. (301057)

The new estimate [HC18] laid before Parliament on the 24 November 2009 states that Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s (IPSA) budget for financial year 2009-10 is £6.571 million. This includes various set-up costs such as procuring and fitting a new building but also includes salaries both for staff members of IPSA as well as the IPSA programme team.

The report of the Committee for Standards in Public Life records that the cost of its inquiry was £393,000. This is entirely separate to costs involved in the establishment of IPSA.