TOM RUTLAND MP — VALUE FOR MONEY
The earlier 11-MP output/cost test has been retired as a complete verdict. Tom Rutland is now assessed under the same CONSTITUENCY-FIRST VFM deep-dive framework as all 17 Sussex MPs.
MIXED+ · 55.88 / 100
Regular constituency access and audited committee attendance count positively. Verified committee work, constituency access and independently corroborated local work count positively; written-question/Hansard totals and FY2024/25 business-cost efficiency remain weaker than much of the cohort. This is a relative VFM assessment, not a finding of waste or wrongdoing.
WHAT CHANGED?
WATCH Sussex's old Rutland test weighted measurable parliamentary output at 70% and costs at 30%. The subsequent all-17 audit showed that approach could miss constituency delivery and local representation. It has therefore been replaced by a constituency-first 35/25/25/15 framework for every MP.
WATCH's audit found 75% attendance across the CMS Committee meetings in the verified period.
Published surgeries and visits provide a traceable local-activity proxy. WATCH does not claim an invented number of constituency days.
Rutland is 12th under the validated all-17 constituency-first index. That is a relative ranking, not a finding that he does no work, is wasteful or has acted improperly.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Rutland receives credit for verified committee work, constituency accessibility, strong recorded voting and independently corroborated local work including Widewater Lagoon. His written-question and Hansard totals are comparatively low, while FY2024/25 parliamentary business costs sit toward the higher end of the cohort. Claims of delivery are credited only to the extent supported by independent causal evidence.
IMPORTANT SEPARATION
The separate staffing/accountability investigation is now at findings stage after the stated right-to-reply deadline passed without a substantive response being identified. It remains a separate evidence stream. Lawful IPSA staffing and office costs are parliamentary business costs, not personal income, and WATCH does not infer wrongdoing from them. The final case also records verified CMS attendance and constituency-first scrutiny of activity involving neighbouring Worthing West.
SEE THE FULL 17-MP VFM RANKING →
CORRECTION RECORD — SUPERSEDED RESULT
WATCH Sussex previously published a NO verdict and 9th-of-11 ranking under a narrow 70% parliamentary-output / 30% cost test. That methodology has been withdrawn as a complete VFM verdict. The current validated position is 12th of 17, 55.88/100, MIXED+.
Evidence snapshot: 6 September 2026. Scores are correctable when stronger primary evidence is provided.
FULL SUSSEX MP COST COMPARISON
The complete 17-MP public-money table is retained separately so staffing, accommodation and total IPSA-funded parliamentary business costs can be compared side by side without mixing those figures into the current VFM score.
OPEN 17-MP COST / STAFFING / ACCOMMODATION TABLE →
Audit trail: the earlier 11-MP output/cost scorecard has also been preserved as a historical, superseded publication rather than deleted.