MARK TODD South Derbyshire
Total second home allowance claims in 2007-8 of £19,023. Mortgage payments, bills, plumbing work and £25 a month food. Contributions towards kitchen units, lighting replacement and carpet. Furniture including table, chairs and sideboard. Full details on his website, "hopefully" by early June.
LIZ BLACKMAN Erewash
Second home allowance claims of £22,588 in 2007-8 – just under the maximum allowed – which paid for flat rental fees. Has not claimed any mortgage interest. Bought household items for rented flat with the approval of Commons authorities.
PATRICK McLOUGHLIN West Derbyshire
Thousands of pounds for maintenance and repair work at Derbyshire home, including £3,000 towards new windows and £1,268 for decorating sitting room, bedroom and en suite bathroom. Said he was not planning on repaying any of the money back. Mr McLoughlin is to chair a committee that will review all expense claims of his party's MPs.
DAVID TAYLOR North West Leicestershire
Has claimed for council tax, estate service charges, utility bills, furniture, fittings. Is paying back all money for furniture. Said he would also apply other interim rules retrospectively. Admitted daughter uses London flat when she is working in the capital. Receipts will be published online by mid-June.
JANET DEAN Burton
In 2007-8 claimed £17,261 for second home in London – £14,400 rent for flat used since 1997. Other expenses include council tax £1097.88, water charges £266.13, insurance £181.25. All receipts to be published "soon".
DENNIS SKINNER Bolsover
Says in the past five years his expenses are the lowest for all MPs and, in 39 years as an MP, he has never claimed a penny in mortgage payments or money for foreign travel. His total expenses in the last five years were £500,000 less than the highest claim. Said his expenses details were available for anyone who wanted to see.
TOM LEVITT High Peak
Claimed mortgage interest payments for 12 years on his council flat, which he said did not even have a garden, but mistakenly over-claimed for six months. All of the money was repaid. Claimed for furniture, some of which was second hand. About £25 a day for petty cash and food when he was in London. Details online in June; future claims will be published month by month.
PAUL HOLMES Chesterfield
Claimed rent on his second home flat for eight years. Received £20,500 from his second home allowance in 2008-9, 90% of which was paid on rent to a commercial company. He did not think any of his claims had been excessive.
MARGARET BECKETT Derby South
Total second home allowance claims in 2007-8 of £16,974. Claimed £1,920 for a new pergola and plants for her Derby constituency home. Commons staff thought it was excessive and disallowed £600 for plants from the bill.
She said her full allowance details would be released with the cabinet's in the next few weeks.
"Over the years what is acceptable has changed and we need to change now too," she said.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Engel: All claims for costs 'directly incurred by me'
NORTH East Derbyshire MP Natascha Engel claimed for a herb-chopper, can opener, tool kit and more than £1,500 of white goods, in total expenses of £63,431 from 2005 to 2008.
In August and September 2005, she claimed for a dishwasher, fridge freezer, washing machine, microwave and kettle at a cost of £1,666.75.
Three months later she got £2,308.95 for furniture from John Lewis. In the next three months to the end of March 2006, she received £504 for kitchen utensils.
She also claimed £2,900 for a John Lewis three-piece corner sofa – but was only given £2,000 – and £235 on a drain survey.
A £79.99 cool box to carry the contents of the MP's fridge between her second home in Derbyshire and London home each week was also claimed.
Since September 2006, Ms Engel has only claimed for mortgage interest, utilities, council tax, phone bills, cleaning, home insurance and water bills. She has never claimed for food and put details of her expenses on her website. Ms Engel said: "I furnished some of my house in Barrow Hill but never claimed for costs not directly incurred by me."
In August and September 2005, she claimed for a dishwasher, fridge freezer, washing machine, microwave and kettle at a cost of £1,666.75.
Three months later she got £2,308.95 for furniture from John Lewis. In the next three months to the end of March 2006, she received £504 for kitchen utensils.
She also claimed £2,900 for a John Lewis three-piece corner sofa – but was only given £2,000 – and £235 on a drain survey.
A £79.99 cool box to carry the contents of the MP's fridge between her second home in Derbyshire and London home each week was also claimed.
Since September 2006, Ms Engel has only claimed for mortgage interest, utilities, council tax, phone bills, cleaning, home insurance and water bills. She has never claimed for food and put details of her expenses on her website. Ms Engel said: "I furnished some of my house in Barrow Hill but never claimed for costs not directly incurred by me."
MP Mallaber a bit more like it
AMBER Valley MP Judy Mallaber has shown the Derby Telegraph her expense claims since 2004.
Her main expense was her mortgage interest. Between 2004 and 2008 she claimed a total of £15,584.02, with £3,891.94 of that received in 2007-08.
She also claimed £1,598.01 for a burglar alarm in those years for her constituency home, for when she was staying in London.
Other expenses were £3,240 for cleaning and £1,800 for service and maintenance costs, including £70.50 for a boiler service.
The Labour MP claimed only for food in 2005-6, when she received £2,000. She said it "did not feel right" claiming for food and has not done so since.
She said she did not feel the total £3,240 bill for a cleaner for her constituency home was excessive. A TV licence was also paid for from the public purse.
Mrs Mallaber said: "I'm a bit embarrassed it (the expense claims) is so low. But I had a national job before I was elected and had a base in London, so only needed a home in Amber Valley. Many other people have done it the other way round."
Her main expense was her mortgage interest. Between 2004 and 2008 she claimed a total of £15,584.02, with £3,891.94 of that received in 2007-08.
She also claimed £1,598.01 for a burglar alarm in those years for her constituency home, for when she was staying in London.
Other expenses were £3,240 for cleaning and £1,800 for service and maintenance costs, including £70.50 for a boiler service.
The Labour MP claimed only for food in 2005-6, when she received £2,000. She said it "did not feel right" claiming for food and has not done so since.
She said she did not feel the total £3,240 bill for a cleaner for her constituency home was excessive. A TV licence was also paid for from the public purse.
Mrs Mallaber said: "I'm a bit embarrassed it (the expense claims) is so low. But I had a national job before I was elected and had a base in London, so only needed a home in Amber Valley. Many other people have done it the other way round."
Hoon 'stuck to letter of law and spirit of the rules' Yeh, yeh, yeh
GORDON Brown was forced to defend two more of his Cabinet ministers yesterday.
The Prime Minister insisted there was "no problem" with financial arrangements that meant Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who lives in Derbyshire, and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell did not pay capital gains tax on second homes.
The PM has branded the behaviour of Communities Secretary Hazel Blears in avoiding £13,000 of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) as "totally unacceptable".
But he insisted the cases of Mr Hoon, who lives at Breaston, and Mr Purnell were different.
Neither paid CGT when selling London homes because the taxman considered them to be their main residence – even though they had been designated as second homes to claim Commons expenses.
Downing Street insisted Mr Hoon and Mr Purnell had stuck to the "letter of the law and the spirit of the rules".
It was reported Mr Hoon did not pay CGT on an estimated £300,000 profit from the sale of his London home in 2006. Mr Hoon said he rejected "any suggestion of wrongdoing".
The Prime Minister insisted there was "no problem" with financial arrangements that meant Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who lives in Derbyshire, and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell did not pay capital gains tax on second homes.
The PM has branded the behaviour of Communities Secretary Hazel Blears in avoiding £13,000 of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) as "totally unacceptable".
But he insisted the cases of Mr Hoon, who lives at Breaston, and Mr Purnell were different.
Neither paid CGT when selling London homes because the taxman considered them to be their main residence – even though they had been designated as second homes to claim Commons expenses.
Downing Street insisted Mr Hoon and Mr Purnell had stuck to the "letter of the law and the spirit of the rules".
It was reported Mr Hoon did not pay CGT on an estimated £300,000 profit from the sale of his London home in 2006. Mr Hoon said he rejected "any suggestion of wrongdoing".
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