Question reference: S1W-00716
- Asked by: Keith Raffan, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 27 July 1999
-
Current status: Answered by David Steel on 10 August 1999
Question
To ask the Presiding Officer to specify the total cost of MSP's salaries and allowances for the current financial year and each of the next three financial years.
Answer
MSPs' salaries and allowances for the current year and the following 2 years are estimated to be:
£million
1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
Plans Plans Plans
MSP Salaries 6.1 6.7 6.7
MSP Allowances 7.1 7.9 7.9
These figures are based upon 1999-00 rates.
MSPs' salaries for the current year are based on the period from 8 May 1999 to 31 March 2000. The figures are based on the salary rates set out in The Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions)(Salaries and Allowances) Order 1999 and take account of reductions for Members who hold dual mandates. Annual uprating is provided for in the Transitional Order but the rate is not yet known.The figure for MSPs' allowances is based on the Members' Allowances Scheme agreed by the Parliament on 8 June and includes provision of £5,000 per Member for information technology and office equipment. For the current year, figures are based on the period from 8 June 1999 to 31 March 2000. Figures for the following years are estimates. While some allowances are capped and the maximum amount can be reliably estimated, others, such as the Members' Travel Allowance, are demand-led and totals are more difficult to predict. The Allowances Scheme makes provision for annual uprating of allowances on 1 April each year by the amount of increase in the Retail Price Index for the previous financial year.