Watchdog warns MPs over failing to respond to public

The public are increasingly unhappy about MPs not responding to their inquiries, Parliament's standards watchdog has said.

Commissioner Daniel Greenberg said complaints about the handling of constituency casework were among the most common received by his office.

However, he said they related to a minority of MPs.

Overall, his office received 5,672 written complaints last year - almost quadruple the number the previous year.

For 2021-22 the figure was 1,434, while for 2020-21 it was 1,780.

As parliamentary commissioner for standards, Mr Greenberg, who was appointed in January, is responsible for overseeing the Commons Code of Conduct and rules for MPs, including the register of financial interests.

The standards commissioner's office also responds to complaints and enquiries by members of the public.

Mr Greenberg said complaints may not trigger a formal investigation but he may decide to give advice to the MP concerned as a result.

"I am concerned about the very large number of complaints that I receive about lack of responsiveness to constituency correspondence," he said.

He said the "large majority of MPs operate impressively effective systems for responding to the large volume of correspondence that they receive from their constituents".

He added: "There are, however, a number of members about whom I receive a sufficient number of complaints of failure to respond to constituents to make me wonder whether they are operating as effectively as they should be."

Mr Greenberg did not name any specific MPs in the report.

He also warned MPs it was not acceptable to refuse to receive communications by email or insist on only receiving electronic communications.

He added that open, in-person surgeries were "immensely valued by constituents" but he noted many members had reluctantly been forced to change their surgery arrangements as a result of security concerns.

Mr Greenberg said he was also concerned about the number of complaints he received about the language and tone used by some MPs to express their views, including on social media.

He said one of the largest volumes of complaints he received this year was related to public concern at the language used by some MPs to criticise the work of the Privileges Committee, which investigated whether then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.

Mr Greenberg said he had seen "numerous examples" of language by MPs which could be considered "offensive or aggressive".

He did not single out any MPs for criticism but urged members to consider their tone and language on social media and outside of Parliament.

He also investigated former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who breached lockdown rules by travelling from London to Glasgow by train after a positive Covid test.

Both cases were reported to the Commons Standards Committee, which recommended the MPs were suspended from Parliament.

The standards commissioner can only formally investigate allegations that MPs have broken the Code of Conduct, as well as overseeing complaints about harassment, bullying or sexual misconduct by MPs.

There were 14 code of conduct inquiries launched in in the year to April, which is fewer than in previous years. Fifteen complaints were upheld during that period and two were dismissed.

In 2021-22 there were 32 inquiries launched, while in 2020-21 there were 26.