Confused about what's happening in relation to MPs' pay and expenses? If you are, that's not surprising because, by my count, there are up to six different reviews or inquiries under way. Just for reference, here they are.
1. The members' estimate committee inquiry. This is the committee chaired by Michael Martin, the Speaker. He has promised a "root-and-branch examination of the current system" and he wants to produce recommendations on how MPs' pay is settled by July, and on changes to the expenses regime by the autumn. The six-person committee represents the Commons establishment and it has never been a champion of radical reform.
2. The advisory panel on members' allowances. Described by some as an MPs' trade union, the panel is chaired by John Spellar (an ex-union apparatchik) and it is supposed to represent the views of backbenchers. The panel has been asked to come up with recommendations for the members' estimates committee to consider when conducting its own inquiry.
3. The standards and privileges committee inquiry, chaired by Sir George Young. The committee said yesterday that it would be bringing forward plans "as soon as possible" for a compulsory system for MPs to have to register the names of relatives they employ as Commons staff.
4. The Baker review. Sir John Baker has been asked by the government to report on a new system for determining the pay of MPs. He is meant to report by May 2008. (This is the same Sir John who chaired the senior salaries review body that reported on MPs' pay in January. Its call for an above-inflation pay rise was not accepted.)
5. The committee on standards in public life. The committee has got a new chairman, Sir Christopher Kelly, and he has suggested that MPs' allowances might be a good subject for its next inquiry. But it is not expected to take a final decision until March (and, of course, it is possible that by then the committee will decide that the field is too crowded).
6. The information tribunal. This is more of a judicial hearing than an inquiry, but it could determine what extra information MPs have to reveal about their expenses. There is a hearing later this week in connection with a freedom of information request for full details of the way MPs use their allowances. Other FoI requests on the same theme are also in the pipeline.
