Coronavirus: Lord speaker says ‘strong argument’ against offering peers £300-a-day allowance for virtual parliament

Peers are entitled to a daily allowance of £323, up from £313 last year

(AP)

There is a “strong argument” that peers should not be able to claim a daily allowance if they are watching proceedings from home, the lord speaker has said.

Lords authorities will hold talks on Monday over whether the peers should continue to receive a stipend of up to £323 when parliament begins to operate remotely due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Lord Fowler, who presides over proceedings in the upper chamber, suggested that peers who hold select committee roles should continue to be paid for their work – but those who are listening to debates from home may no longer be eligible.

It comes as MPs are expected to approve plans for a virtual parliament on Tuesday, with up to 50 parliamentarians allowed into the Commons chamber and another 120 able to dial in using Zoom, the video-conferencing app.

The Lords will operate behind closed doors for the first two weeks with transcripts available of proceedings, before moving to live broadcasts, in line with the Commons.

Lord Fowler said the daily stipend would be considered next week but pointed to the amount of work that went into select committee hearings.

Asked whether peers who simply join the debates by Zoom should be paid or not, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well I think that’s a pretty strong argument, isn’t it.

“As I say, I don’t want to preclude any discussions. I’m not thinking in terms that we should make a payment to people taking my advice and sitting at home and simply watching proceedings.

“It’s another case if you happen to be a member of select committee, taking evidence and preparing for that evidence.

“We are going to have to go through all those points but we will go through them on Monday with an open mind.”

Peers are entitled to a daily allowance of £323, up from £313 last year, meaning an annual tax-free income of more than £48,000 over the 150 days the Upper House typically sits each year.

In ordinary times, members must attend the Palace of Westminster and prove they have undertaken parliamentary work.