DUNDEE UNIVERSITY principal Sir Alan Langlands was named yesterday as the head of a committee that will look into the controversy over MSPs’ allowances.

He and his colleagues will have until March to examine the system that paid out £9.4 million last year to meet the costs incurred by elected members in carrying out their duties—equivalent to about £75,000 per person—mostly for staff and accommodation costs.

The five-strong panel will also study the workings of separate systems for providing cash support to party leaders and aid for buying equipment and furniture.

One MSP, former finance minister Tom McCabe, is a member of the committee. He serves on the cross-party corporate body that is responsible for running the Scottish Parliament.

The others are former MP and MSP James Douglas-Hamilton, Accounts Commission chairman Alastair MacNish and Isobel Sharp, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

The MSPs’ allowances system is being put under the microscope in the wake of widespread concerns about members being able to make claims for spending such as council tax payments and TV licences.

Some have also been criticised for making a profit by buying and selling properties under the Edinburgh accommodation allowance scheme.

Transport minister Stewart Stevenson recently had to defend himself against claims that he sold his home in Linlithgow to benefit from the scheme. He insisted that he had not broken the rules.

Holyrood’s presiding officer Alex Fergusson said, “We are very grateful to Sir Alan Langlands and the rest of the panel for agreeing to undertake this review.”

Sir Alan, who has been at Dundee University for seven years, was formerly chief executive of the NHS in England. In 2004 he chaired the independent commission for good governance in public services.