26 November 2010 - The First Post today reports that from January 2010 MPs will no longer be able to claim expenses for sending 'junk mail'.
Currently, MPs are entitled to a 'communications allowance' of up to £10,000 per year. The money can be spent on, amongst others, producing and distributing newsletters, targeted letters, petitions, surveys and Parliamentary reports.
The allowance was introduced to help MPs inform constituents about their actions and decisions, but is controversial because mailings produced by MPs are more often than not seen as party political advertisements.
Abolishing the allowance was one of the recommendations in Kelly Report on MP's expenses. The report, which was published on 4 November, states:
"The Committee believes that effective engagement between an MP and his or her constituents is of the utmost importance, particularly in the wake of recent events. The Committee's survey research shows that the public expect MPs to keep in touch with what they think is important and to explain their actions and decisions.
"However, with some commendable exceptions, the evidence that the communications allowance has really succeeded in promoting more effective engagement is very limited, even allowing for the relatively short time since its introduction. There is much more evidence of it being used in ways that are essentially party political or have more to do with self-promotion. It is also difficult to police.
"For these reasons, the Committee has concluded that the allowance should be abolished."
Writing for The First Post, an insider with the pseudonym 'The Mole' claims to have seen a confidential letter to MPs signed by Terry Bird, Director of Operations at the House of Commons, confirming that from 1 January 2010 there will indeed be "a ban on anything that can be put through the letterbox". MPs would still be allowed to claim expenses for minor items such as surgery posters.