Departing MPs will get bigger payouts for winding up their offices, with the sum doubling to £17,300, the UK parliament expenses watchdog has announced. MPs who lose their seats or choose not to stand will be paid for four months after leaving office to enable them to wind up their casework and other duties – doubling from the current period of eight weeks. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) made the change after reviewing arrangements for payments following the next election. MPs who lose their seats also qualify for “loss of office payments” – at twice the rate of statutory redundancy pay – and the winding-up payments come on top of this. They have to demonstrate that they are using their time to work on winding up their offices. MPs’ staff can also qualify for such payments. Ministers get different severance payments for loss of office, with a cabinet minister receiving £16,876. Ipsa announced the changes in July after a review prompted by the boundary changes and end of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in 2022. It informed MPs in a bulletin sent over the summer saying: “The winding-up period has proven to be too short for winding up what can be complex office arrangements. “Ipsa has seen the issues for MPs’ staff who have often been contacted after the winding-up period to assist in finding receipts for business costs. “The winding-up period will now be four months from the date of the next general election. This additional time will allow most administrative tasks to be completed by former members and enable Ipsa to focus high-quality support to newly elected MPs and staff.” Other changes include allowing loss of office payments for MPs who fail to be re-elected when standing in any seat, rather than the same seat, as some have had their constituencies abolished as part of the boundary changes. A spokesperson for Ipsa said: “Following a public consultation earlier this year, based upon the evidence available to us and our own experience from previous elections, we agreed that the winding-up period is too short for former MPs and their staff to close down their offices and deal with outstanding casework. “It is also unfair to expect those closing their offices to do so once their employment has ended. We therefore have extended it to allow a smoother transition for members of parliament and for their constituents.”