The purpose of the Act is to:

Bring to an end the self-regulation of MPs’ expenses and create an independent, transparent and robust system for the regulation of MPs’ allowances and the registration of financial interests.

The main elements of the Act are to:

• create a new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, to decide and administer the allowances system for MPs, administer MPs’ salaries, draw up a code of conduct on financial interests and set the rules for investigations
• establish an independent Commissioner for Parliamentary Investigations with the power to investigate complaints against MPs in relation to the allowances scheme or the registration of financial interests, and report his or her findings to the House of Commons Committee for Standards and Privileges
• create a new criminal offence of knowingly providing false or misleading information in a claim for an allowance, for which the maximum sanction is up to 12 months’ custodial sentence or an unlimited fine.