‘Nannygate’ decision put on hold
By politics.co.uk staff
The parliamentary standards committee has deferred a decision on “nannygate” and shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman until next week.
The standards and privileges committee met yesterday and reviewed a report into her conduct for two hours. It is believed the report does not entirely clear the former Conservative party chairman of wrong doing.
The committee is expected to meet again next week and will hope to reach a decision, with a report due on Wednesday 4th March.
Ms Spelman has been accused of using parliamentary expenses to pay her nanny Tina Haynes as she also did some secretarial work.
Expenses can only be claimed for things which are exclusively to do with being an MP, so while expenses may be claimed for secretaries, they cannot for childcare.
Ms Haynes worked as a nanny for Ms Spelman between 1997-2002. She also worked six hours a day as her constituency secretary between 1997-1998 but Ms Spelman has claimed she rewarded separately with room and board for working as a nanny.
Ms Spelman hired a separate secretary after the Tory chief whip warned her that her arrangement was “open to misinterpretation”.
She referred herself to the parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon last year in an attempt to clear her own name.
He has conducted a seven-month investigation into the affair in “exceptional” circumstances as the events occurred seven years previously and there had been no official complaint against Ms Spelman.
Standards committee chairman, Sir George Young, has said he wants members to reach an agreement on the matter and to decide what action to take against Ms Spelman.
