IPSA appoints Matt Walker as new Compliance Officer

Date published: 30 May 2024

Matt Walker has been appointed as the new Compliance Officer for IPSA, effective from 1 June 2024. Matt replaces outgoing Compliance Officer Brigadier Jonathon Blair-Tidewell, who held that office since May 2023.

Chair of IPSA, Richard Lloyd said:

“One of our objectives at IPSA is to support trust in democracy and ensure the public has confidence that public money is spent on the right things, in the right way.

“The IPSA Compliance Officer has a crucial role to play in delivering this transparency and assurance to the public, by providing independent scrutiny of the work we do and when necessary, enforcing our rules.

“I welcome Matt Walker to this role and look forward to working with him.”

Responding to his appointment, Matt Walker said:

“I look forward to working as the new Compliance Officer for IPSA. This is an important, independent role, with a significant amount of responsibility, and I welcome the opportunity to play a part in supporting trust in democracy.”

Ends

For more information contact the IPSA press office on 07792 242736 or email communications@theipsa.org.uk.

Notes to editors

  1. The Compliance Officer for IPSA is an independent office holder established as a separate public authority from IPSA under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

  2. The Compliance Officer is responsible for investigating complaints over how MPs spend the budget given to them by IPSA to carry out their parliamentary duties. The Compliance Officer can also conduct reviews into IPSA following requests from an MP.

  3. The Compliance Officer follows the procedures for investigations, which set out the remit of an investigation and how it should be conducted. The Procedures for Investigations of the Compliance Officer for IPSA (Fourth Edition) can be found on the Compliance Officer’s website.

  4. When deciding on penalties and any other actions to take following an investigation, the Compliance Officer will consider fairness, proportionality and public interest.

  5. The Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs can be found on IPSA's website.