MPs get $60K each to run district offices – but no requirement to account for how it’s spent

An annual allowance of $60,000 is given to each of the 19 elected members of parliament to pay to run their constituency offices.

But the way the cash is actually used appears to vary widely, and there is no legal obligation for legislators to record or report any of their expenditure.

The $5,000 a month, which is automatically issued to the MPs alongside their salary, is allocated for expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies and general maintenance.

Staff members are paid for separately.

Of the 19 MPs, only nine run individual offices, while the others choose to work from their homes, businesses, government buildings or party headquarters, or share office space.

This saves money on rent which can then be spent on supporting needy constituents, MP Alden McLaughlin, who is based in the Progressives party headquarters, told the Compass.

MP Joey Hew, who rents an “affordable space” in his father’s building, said he spends the remaining cash on providing free computer and internet access, helping the elderly and more.

Meanwhile, MP McKeeva Bush, who works from his home, insisted that running an office does not cost just “a few dollars” and MPs help people in all kinds of ways.

However, due to the lack of requirement to report these spends, it is unclear exactly how an annual total of $1.14 million in public funds is spent.

No audit

Auditor General Sue Winspear flagged the allowance in a report detailing the remuneration of Cabinet, judiciary, members of Parliament, and key civil service management.

“It is government policy to pay the $60,000 constituency allowances without any need to evidence spending,” she told the Compass.

“As auditor general, I am not able to give a view on policy matters but it is self-evident that submitting claims to demonstrate spending would provide greater accountability to the public on how these constituency allowances are used.”

Clerk of the Parliament Zena Merren-Chin confirmed that the constituency allowance is automatically provided each month to the MPs.

This is set out in the Parliamentary (Management) (Amendment) Act, 2022, and “there is no requirement for an accounting of the amount”, she added.

The level of allowance and associated rules in the Cayman Islands contrasts significantly to those in the United Kingdom.

In 2023, the maximum annual budget for London MPs’ offices and related expenses was £31,620 and for others it was £28,570 – about half of that routinely given to Cayman MPs.

The size of the UK constituencies is also considerably larger, with the number of people in each one an average of 71,631 in December 2021 – nearly Cayman’s total population.

In terms of accounting, UK members of parliament are required to submit claims for all their office expenses, with most total claims for 2022-2023 coming well under budget.

Where they share an office, they can only claim the appropriate share of costs and rent and, if they use a party headquarters, it must be rented at the market rate.

If they run a home office, they cannot claim rent, and can apply only for additional costs, and if they rent from a connected party – such as a spouse or parent – they cannot claim.

Fewer than half of MPs had their own constituency office

A constituency office is a local base for a political representative, where constituents can seek assistance and discuss issues.

It serves as a connection point between the representative and the community they serve.

At the time of its publication, the auditor general’s report stated that only eight out of the 19 MPs had an independent constituency office in 2023.

The names of the individual MPs were not released in the auditor general’s report, so the Compass reached out to the House of Parliament for a list of constituency offices.

The full list, dated October 2023, was received on 8 Jan.

At the time, George Town South MP Barbara Conolly and George Town West MP David Wight shared an office at the Sigma Building on 93 Hospital Road.

Savannah MP Heather Bodden and Newlands MP Wayne Panton shared offices at 8 Homestead Crescent Drive, Savannah.

Red Bay MP Alden McLaughlin and George Town East MP Roy McTaggart were both based out of the Progressives’ headquarters on Crewe Road in George Town.

North Side MP Jay Ebanks was based in the North Side Civic Centre government building and West Bay West MP McKeeva Bush had a home office.

And finally, Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman MP Moses Kirkconnell and George Town North MP Joey Hew had offices in their business premises.

Although the Cayman Brac East MP and now Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly was listed as having a home office, parliament has since corrected this.

According to clerk Merren-Chin, she has long been based at No 2 Catboat Plaza, Stake Bay Road, Cayman Brac East.

‘Affordable space’

The Compass reached out to each of the MPs detailed above to ask their thoughts on the constituency office allowance.

Five provided responses to Compass questions.

MP Joey Hew told this publication that he leases a space in his father’s building, which also houses his two companies, for his constituency office.

“I do not own any shares in the building even though I am a director of the land holding company,” he said.

Hew explained that he, and a full time assistant – paid for separately to the allowance – offer several services from the office.

These include free access to computers and internet as well as assistance with government applications.

Hew and his assistant also help the elderly to collect medications and attend doctors appointments, and process passport applications and visa applications.

“Other expenses include the purchase and maintenance of computers, photocopiers, and telephones,” he said.

“I am fortunate that I have access to an affordable space, but I still have to fund maintenance and upkeep of the office.”

‘Allowance, not expense account’

Speaker of the House Alden McLaughlin said that having a district office in the Progressives headquarters has been the practice for “many years and over many terms, by many MPs, both past and present”.

In addition to seeing constituents and residents there, he also sees them at his own office next to his home in Prospect Park, he explained.

McLaughlin stressed that the money for the office is provided according to the law, and is an “allowance, not an expense account”.

“Its objective is to assist elected MPs to provide ready access and assistance to their constituents,” he said.

“The question as to whether an MP has adequately serviced the needs of his or her constituents is readily determined at the next poll.”

McLaughlin said that, in his case, he has been elected for six consecutive terms and has served for more than 23 years.

He insisted that the allowance is not just to set up and keep an office functioning but often used to provide financial assistance to constituents in times of emergency.

The MP said that while there is a Needs Assessment Unit, the “stark reality” is that bureaucracy and delays mean that desperate people often turn to their MPs for help.

“And, in my experience, every MP does his or her best to help the legitimate needy cases.”

He added that in many cases, the allowance “falls short of what most MPs spend to provide ready access and assistance to their constituents”.

Allowance provided under law

Following a request for comment, MP McKeeva Bush stressed to the Compass that the allowance is provided by the law.

He said he is not the first, nor the only one, to run an office from his home, and that he caters to the whole community not just his constituency.

“The purpose is for us to be accessible to our community privately and confidentially of their needs,” he said.

Bush said having an office at home allows for him to cater to his constituents at all times.

“I don’t have to jump in my car and travel to an office somewhere in West Bay – it’s right on my premises,” he said.

In a joint comment, former-premier and Newlands MP Wayne Panton and Savannah MP Heather Bodden said the allowance is provided “without inquiry”, as according to the law.

They said there are “unavoidable and historical reasons” for maintaining a joint office, including that the constituency of Newlands is exclusively a residential community.

The business area around the intersection of Hirst Road and Shamrock Road is the most convenient location for both constituencies, the MPs added.

They said their situation is “not an isolated case” and there are other MPs that share offices

“So, yes, we do believe that the setup is justified in our circumstances and the funds received are appropriately applied for the intended purpose.”

The aggregate costs of services provided to the respective constituencies “easily exceeds” the total $120,000 allowance provided for under the law, they told the Compass.

“We neither receive nor rely on donations from third parties. We pay the excess costs from our own funds.”

According to a 2017 Compass article, the amount of allowance that Cayman MPs were allocated at the time depended on the site of their offices – but this is no longer the case.

Salaries and allowances

In 2022, the government paid $6 million in total, or $284,947 each on average, to MPs for their wage and expenses, the auditor general’s report revealed.

Their average salary was $172,828. The basic annual salary for an MP in the UK from 1 April 2023 was £86,584.

Allowances – including district office expenses – were the second-highest component of the MPs’ remuneration.

The report also explained that according to the Parliament (Management) (Amendment) Act, each elected MP is entitled to the services of constituency assistants.

Ministers can have two full-time constituency assistants and one part-time constituent assistant, while MPs are entitled to one full-time and one part-time constituency assistant.

Parliament’s chief officer appoints constituency assistants on the advice of MPs – so their jobs are not subject to competitive public recruitment, the report says.

In 2022, Parliament paid about $2.1 million total in remuneration to constituency assistants.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated on 17 Jan., 2024, at 9.30am to include comment from Wayne Panton and Heather Bodden.