After more than two years, IPSA have finally ended the tax-free £26-per month Covid homeworking allowance for parliamentary staff. In new guidance released this week, the body announced the final payment would be issued in July:

Now that Covid-related restrictions have been lifted, and there is no general work-from-home requirement in place, we have determined it is the right time to end payment of the allowance for the majority of staff members.

The final payment for staff on office-based contracts (including hybrid contracts) will be in July 2022. Staff members who are on home-based contracts will remain eligible for the allowance beyond July.

If every staffer claimed the allowance, which was introduced to cover their home telephone usage, internet, electricity and gas, it would have cost the taxpayer £1.1 million a year. For some reason it took a three-month review for IPSA to conclude that this might now be unnecessary. Back to the office…