The constituency office of British MP Nigel Adams in Tadcaster, 2019
A constituency office, also called an electorate office, is an office operated by a local political officeholder, such as a Member of Parliament (MP), within the area they represent. It may be used to have meetings with constituents, or administration for the officeholder. It can serve a similar function to a surgery, but is normally based in a fixed office. Sometimes officeholders may also have offices in or around the legislature they serve in, which may serve a similar function but are normally not in the officeholder's constituency.
Members of the House of Representatives are entitled to between one and three electorate offices depending upon the size of their constituency, while members of the Senate are each entitled to one office.[1]
Constituency office of former Labour senator, Jimmy Harte, in Letterkenny, County Donegal
It is common, in Ireland, for TDs to maintain constituency offices.[5] These offices are maintained in the TDs' home constituency, and are covered by a "constituency office establishment allowance",[6][7] and other allowances for some of the costs in running the office.[8]
In January 2024, the constituency office of TD Holly Cairns was reportedly closed due to "safety concerns".[9][10] In February 2024, the office of Offaly TD Carol Nolan was vandalised.[11][12]
New Zealand
All members of the New Zealand Parliament are entitled to an electorate office, and two electoral secretaries.[13][14] Although there is nothing requiring MPs to have an electorate office, taxpayer-funded electorate secretaries are not allowed to work out of Parliament buildings.[14] After hers was attacked in 2022, Prime MinisterJacinda Arden described their use as "they help them [constituents] with housing issues, immigration issues, welfare issues" and that such issues were happening "consistently".[15]
In 1996 Labourlist MPs announced that they would begin to set up parliamentary offices.[16]
Tonga
The establishment of constituency offices was approved by the TonganParliament in 2019.[17]
Constituency offices are common in the UK, especially for established MPs.[18] Unlike surgeries, where 'drop-in' sessions are common, some meetings in constituency offices may require booking.[19]
Following the murder of Jo Cox in 2016, MPs were reportedly offered access to additional security measures for their homes and constituency offices, leading to an increase in spending on such measures up to 2018.[21]
↑ Koop, Royce (June 2012). "Party Constituency Associations and the Service, Policy and Symbolic Responsiveness of Canadian Members of Parliament". Canadian Journal of Political Science. 45 (2). Canadian Political Science Association: 359–378. doi:10.1017/S0008423912000364. JSTOR23320975. S2CID1546034.
↑ "Other allowances - Constituency office establishment allowance". oireachtas.ie. Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 27 February 2024. If a TD chooses to have an office presence in his or her own constituency they can reclaim some of the costs associated with setting up that office
↑ "Revealed: how much in expenses your local TD claimed in 2021". Irish Independent. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024. TDs can claim the cost of their constituency office energy bills [..] It can also be used to pay for utility bills associated with running an office
↑ "Sir David Amess killing: Should MPs still be able to meet the public?". BBC. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2024. All MPs were offered panic buttons [..] and emergency fobs at their homes and constituency offices [..] The spending on such measures soared from £170,576 in 2015/16 to £4.5m two years later
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