Meg Munn

Last updated

On 26 May 2009, Meg Munn was criticised after The Daily Telegraph published an article reporting that her husband, who was employed part-time as her parliamentary aide, was paid more than £5,000 from public funds over four years for professional services in connection with their personal taxation affairs to at least five government ministers, and his wife. [12] The article reported that when Munn published her receipt for these services on her website, she blacked out the portion indicating that her husband was the beneficiary of her expenses. [13] Munn said on her website that the blacking out had been done by the House of Commons, which deleted details considered to be a personal security risk; her husband's name was deleted for one year, presumably in error, but published for three other years. Munn said that neither she nor her staff had redacted details. [14]

Labour MPs argued that tax advice relating to their work as MPs was a legitimate expense, and the Labour Party issued a statement supporting this view. Business groups expressed concerns that MPs might be being "treated differently" to other taxpayers, saying, "If entrepreneurs sought professional tax advice, they had to pay the fee themselves and offset it against any profits on which they paid tax". [15] Munn was one of 98 MPs who voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs' expense details secret. [16]

Post-Parliamentary career

From August 2015 to July 2023 Munn served as pro-chancellor and Deputy Chair, [17] and from July 2023 to April 2024 as Interim Chair, of the Board of Governors of Sheffield Hallam University.[ citation needed ] She is currently the Senior Independent Director of the Phone-paid Services Authority. [18] Previously she was Chair of the British Council's Society Advisory Group (2017–2021) and a Non-Executive Director of the Esh Group (2015–2018).

She is also an international governance consultant with a focus on parliamentary processes, political party development, gender mainstreaming and women's leadership. She works with organisations such as Global Partners Governance, Inter-Parliamentary Union, United Nations Development Programme, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, UN Women, the Kenya Women Parliamentarians' Association (KEWOPA) and the Iraq Foundation to support democracy building in a number of countries. She is author of Participatory Gender Audits of Parliaments: a Step by Step Guidance Document (2022) and Lead drafter for the Compendium of Good Practises for Advancing Women's Political Participation in the OSCE Region (2016), Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.[ citation needed ]

She supports women to consider non-traditional careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and construction. She has been a Patron of the Women's Engineering Society and has edited Building the future: women in construction, Smith Institute (2014) and Unlocking Potential: perspectives on women in science, engineering & technology, Smith Institute (2011).[ citation needed ]

She was the first independent Chair of the Church of England's National Safeguarding Panel and then the acting Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board. [19] She resigned from both positions on 12 July 2023. [20]

Personal life

Munn is fluent in German and French, conversational Italian and Spanish. She has long been an active member of the Methodist Church.[ citation needed ] She has been married to Dennis Bates since 1989. [21]

Publications

References

  1. "House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests – Part 2". UK Parliament. 24 January 2011.
  2. "Meg Munn MP Official site". Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  3. "Congress Presidents 1869–2002" (PDF). February 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  4. "Progress announces new chair". Progress Online. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  5. "British Parliamentary Private Secretaries". guide2womenleaders.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  6. Sparrow, Andrew (15 May 2005). "Women's minister must work unpaid after late call-up". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  7. Mason, Rowena (30 August 2013). "Syria: coalition MPs defy Cameron and Clegg's call for military action". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  8. Strong, James (16 September 2015). "Interpreting the Syria vote: parliament and British foreign policy" (PDF). International Affairs. 91 (5): 1137. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12401.
  9. Eaton, George (18 September 2014). "The decision on whether to intervene in Iraq now rests in Labour's hands". New Statesman. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  10. "Foreign & Commonwealth Office – GOV.UK" . Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  11. "Meg Munn". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  12. Winnett, Robert; Hope, Christopher; Watt, Holly (25 May 2009). "MPs' expenses: Dennis Bates, husband of MP Meg Munn, paid for tax advice by ministers". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  13. "Key details: MP expenses claims". BBC News. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  14. "Further Information on My Parliamentary Expenses for Constituents". Meg Munn MP. 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011.
  15. "No 10 defends ministers over tax". BBC News. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  16. "How your MP voted on the FOI Bill". The Times . London. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  17. "Meg Munn | Sheffield Hallam University". www.shu.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  18. "The Board". psauthority.org.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  19. "Church of England sacks independent abuse panel". BBC News. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  20. "'Archbishop Welby undermined me' — Meg Munn quits as Church's safeguarding chair". Church Times. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  21. "Munn, Meg, (born 24 Aug. 1959), consultant; Independent Chair, National Safeguarding Panel, Church of England, since 2018". Who's Who 2020 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
Meg Munn
Meg Munn 2.jpg
Munn as a Foreign Office minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office
29 June 2007 5 October 2008
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Sheffield Heeley
20012015
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Women and Equality), Minister for Equality
2005–2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
2007–2008
Succeeded by