Question

To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, with reference to the Answer on 9 March 2026 to Question 117392 on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and Members Staff, a) if IPSA has assessed whether the level of pay for hon. Members' staff is a contributing factor to the 20.8% turnover rate, and b) in what proportion of exit surveys sent by ISPA to all departing hon. Members staff is pay stated as a factor in their exit.

MPs are the employers of their staff, not IPSA. Although IPSA provides an exit survey template for MPs to use when staff leave their employment, any information collected as to the reason for an employee's departure remains with the MP and is not shared with IPSA.

While IPSA does not have access to such formal exit information, anecdotal feedback, including from our own consultations, suggests that pay may be one factor in staff departures. Other commonly cited reasons include workload, the challenging nature of casework, limited training and progression opportunities, poor employment practices, job insecurity, and the use of these roles as a route into political careers.

The 20.8% turnover rate referenced in the question includes MPs' staff who move between MPs’ offices.