Summary
Mr Mark Wallace - Campaign Director of the Taxpayers' Alliance - submitted a complaint to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner in which he claimed that the cost of certain taxi journeys undertaken by Mrs. Mary Martin, the wife of Mr Speaker, had been improperly met - through the Speaker's Office - from public funds.
This Report from the Committee on Standards and Privileges, 'Conduct of Mr Speaker'
(HC 559), examines the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standard's decision to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that 'the journeys were consistent with the permitted use of taxis for official business and a reasonable use of public funds'.
The Committee endorses that decision and the grounds on which it was made.
The Commissioner had also expressed his concern that the letter sent to the complainant - Mr Mark Wallace - summarising the complaint and indicating the extent to which it fell within his remit, was released in full to the media. The Committee disapproves of this and other cases where recipients have overlooked or ignored clear statements that the detailed contents in communications from the Commissioner are to be treated as confidential.
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