BOB SPINK WRITES:

LOCAL people and the press are mostly decent and fair, they deserve straight answers on MPs' staff and expenses.

Before the controversy, I tabled a motion asking for root and branch reform of the way MPs organise, pay for and staff their offices and how MPs are paid.

I called for an end to all MPs' allowances, for the House to deal with all MPs' costs and be the employer of all MPs' staff. My motion called for MPs to have no say at all in the level of their own pay and for a ban on second jobs.

The job of an MP is decently paid and full time. I work around 70 hours a week, 90 last week!

I am delighted the Speaker accepted my motion, at least in part, and formally announced "a root and branch examination of the current system".

But I am not confident we will get the fundamental change needed to modernise MPs' practices and win back public confidence.

I went on BBC Newsnight with the "old warriors" Jeremy Paxman and Martin Bell, to promote these reforms. I am doing my utmost to get the necessary change.

Last week I voluntarily published full staff information, something almost no other MP has done. Some press reporting has been outrageously misleading, although it has been careful not to imply any misconduct.

My office consists of two full-time, four part-time and four non-paid staff.

My daughter, Charlie, is a graduate and housewife. She does 53 days per year for me and is paid the Fees Office set rate, as are all my staff.

She is very well qualified for her work, involving media reporting, writing, editing and research. She also compiles computer based label lists from petitions, which are frequent and boring, but someone has to do it.

My former wife Jan has worked for me for 35 years. Since 1992, she has been my senior staff member, supporting me as MP with great skill and dignity. She is very experienced, highly competent, and professionally qualified for her job.

We divorced some years ago and Jan moved to Dorset, but wanted to keep her job.

There was no lawful redundancy option and the Fees Office agreed her duties, salary and contract in Dorset. Whatever the personal difficulties for me, Jan did an excellent, professional job and I could not morally justify sacking her; that would have been vindictive and an abuse of my position, continuing her employment was not.

Jan deals with around 20 letters a day, runs my diary, Parliament-ary activities and on-going campaigns, compiles electronic databases and helps on early day motions and other activities.

Some MPs have stated they employ spouses to do "reading". Jan's work is more tangible. Some even employ spouses to do work they are not qualified for. Of course, the MP's name, not staff names, go on all communications from the MP's office. As one example, in the last month, one minority issue alone, police pay, resulted in 204 standard letters and e-mails leaving my office, all under my name, but my excellent staff did the work.

I am very active in Parliament. My hospice funding debate last week needed extensive staff research over several days.

Yet I still managed ten other debates that week. I took part in 46 debates in the last month alone, mostly fighting for constituents and our democracy.

In comparison, a previous MP contributed to just four debates each year. I imply no criticism; this MP was very caring and did an excellent job.

Ashleigh and Elliott are students. They both started as unpaid interns in my office and performed so well I eventually asked them to join my staff. We are lucky to have them. They are remarkable youngsters who will go far.

Ashleigh is almost 20, and does around 75 days lectures and 93 days work for me in the full year. I get excellent feedback from the people she helps at my surgeries or visits locally on my behalf.

She is a great all-rounder, from hand delivering "stop the gas plant" posters and physically doing the massive bulk mailings, to acting as photographer and often editor.

For instance, she was a star at the Royal Mail sorting office early one morning before Christmas, taking photographs and writing copy to praise people like our wonderful posties who serve their communities. Her work was used by local papers.

Ashleigh also works at Westminster, but she particularly likes people-centred work and helping with my charity functions, such as the Veterans' Day.

I could not do what I do for my community without Ashleigh's help. I could not do my job in Parliament without the help of my staff.

Formal monitoring shows I am one of the hardest working of all 646 MPs. This is also a measure of my staff's performance. My office and staff allowances are underspent by a massive £25,834 this year, money I could have paid out, but did not, which speaks volumes.

MPs normally pay their staff a small bonus. Given my staff's dedication and quality of work, I am minded to use a small amount of my under-spend to do this (I never get a bonus), and return the bulk of the under-spend to the Fees Office. I wonder if reasonable people' in my constituency feel this would be right.

All my staff are decent and hard working, doing their very best. They deserve respect and, from this point on, I will give them total privacy within the rules.

Who's who on Bob's staff

JAN SPINK Former wife. Paid £28,000 a year for carrying out secretarial work from her home in Dorset.

CHARLIE SPINK Daughter. She is paid £4,400 for working 53 days a year.

ASHLEIGH SHARP Daughter of former partner. Earns £5,000 a year for working in between university studies.

GRACE READING PA at Westminster.

ELLIOTT WARD Cambridge student. £3,000 a year as part-time adviser.

KATE MARIAPA Expected to earn £7,000 a year as casual adviser.