The Cabinet’s decision to raise MPs’ honoraria without the Speaker or the Clerk of the House being notified when the decision was taken was anomalous but not in contempt of the House, Speaker Michael Frendo has decided.

In a letter to former Labour leader Alfred Sant, Dr Frendo said he did not feel that the matter was an act or omission which obstructed or impeded the House in the performance of its functions.

He agreed, however, that such a decision should not be taken again in the best interest of a continuous relation between the House and the Executive.

It seemed that this was also being acknowledged by the Prime Minister who, in a Parliamentary statement on January 19, proposed that the matter should be considered and decided by the House Business Committee, Dr Frendo said..

In a letter to the Speaker, Dr Sant had accused the government of being in contempt of the House in the manner how it decided to raise the honoraria of MPs and how the information was disclosed, two-and-a-half-years later, in a way which put MPs in a bad light.

The increase was backdated to March 2008, according to a decision taken by the Cabinet in May that year.

Dr Frendo said that Dr Sant’s letter emphasised the need for Parliament to be autonomous, and that issues such as members’ honoraria should be regulated by House procedure in the best interest of democracy.