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Update: My receipts have now been published and are available to view here.
My current expenses for the year 2009-2010 can be viewed here
In order to comply with Data Protection legislation some details have been 'redacted' (blanked out) on the receipts.
Many of the receipts contain personal details of staff members - including bank details, addresses and telephone numbers - which cannot, and should not be published.
To read about my e-news articles on the recent expenses abuses that have been revealed in The Telegraph, click here or here [13th May 2009]
Running my office
Running the office of a Member of Parliament is like running a small business – there are costs which must be met in order for the job to be done effectively.
I claimed £134,211 in Parliamentary expenses for 2007-2008.
I am ranked 485th out of 646 Members of Parliament – which means 75% of MPs (484) claim more in expenses than I do.
As I have already explained, the expenses are in place to meet office running costs and to help represent my constituents. They are not ‘extras’ or ‘perks’ – they pay for printer toner, paper, envelopes, postage etc
For every item I buy I have to put in a claim which is then scrutinised by parliamentary civil servants.
In addition to my salary of approximately £63,300, I automatically receive a £2,916 London Supplement – which is subject to income tax and national insurance – this is paid to all Members of Parliament who live in, and represent, inner-London constituencies.
From April 1st 2009 this increased from £2812 to £7500. I have turned this down.
For 2007-2008 I also claimed £1,590 for travel in the course of my work.
Staff (£86,316)
£86,316 went towards paying my 4 permanent members of staff (none of whom are related to me). This includes salaries and National Insurance contributions.
They manage my two offices, support my casework, provide research for the hundreds of letters on policy I receive every week, and help me campaign on key issues that affect your lives.
Office running costs (£32,760)
Office running costs, stationery, papers and IT support accounts for £32,760.
This is split into four pots – office running costs, centrally purchased stationery, postage and IT support.
My contract with the parliamentary IT department – which provides technical support and loans equipment – accounts for £1,166.
Office running costs are the biggest expense, at approximately £24,500. A large proportion of this pays the rent, utility and phone bills of my constituency office at 58 Trinity Road. It also covers office consumables such as paper, printer toner and other stationery.
It also covers room hire for my surgeries and venue hire for the benefits advice sessions (e.g. Warm Front) I put on for constituents.
Centrally purchased stationery and postage accounts for a further £6,928. This pays for the ‘franked’ parliamentary envelopes and the headed ‘portcullis’ paper I use in the course of my parliamentary business.
Every week I receive and reply to hundreds of letters on policy issues, casework and key local issues.
Contentious pieces of legislation, such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill or the Climate Change Bill can see thousands of people writing to lobby me.
Each and every person who contacts me deserves a reply.
A policy query will typically generate several letters – as I write to the relevant Ministers/Departments, and forward replies to the original correspondent.
A piece of casework can generate even more letters and administrative work.
In short, over the course of a year I write thousands of letters, and the costs do mount up. It’s part and parcel of being an effective representative.
Communications Allowance (£10,733)
This was introduced in 2007 to allow MPs to communicate proactively with their constituents. This has allowed me to campaign for residents on issues such as the Springfield Development and my Safer Streets Campaign and keep people updated via regular newsletters.
The allowance helps me engage Tooting residents, inform them of my work in parliament and ensure that their views are represented as well as possible.
My expenses - 2005-2008 (click to enlarge)
Greeting Cards error in 2005
When I was elected to Parliament in 2005, I decided to continue the practice of sending birthday cards to 18 year-olds.
This
is a common practice amongst MPs from all parties -- an apolitical
gesture to congratulate constituents on obtaining the right to vote.
Similarly,
I also decided to send cards to mark Christmas and -- given the diverse
nature of Tooting constituency -- cards to those celebrating other
religious festivals such as Diwali, Eid and Hannukah.
Wherever possible, I've sought sponsorship for these cards from local businesses.
As
a new MP in 2005, I won sponsorship for Christmas cards but not the
Eid, Diwali or 18th birthday cards I sent that year. My original
understanding was that these could be funded through the money given to
MPs to keep in touch with their constituents. This was approved by the House of Commons authorities.
In future years, I obtained sponsorship or funding for all cards and did not make any claim on parliamentary funds.
It
is clear that the House of Commons authorities were wrong to allow
these cards to be paid for through the MP communications allowance.
Clearly,
it isn't possible to retrospectively get sponsorship for cards that
were sent over 4 years ago. Therefore I have paid this money myself,
to ensure that the public purse does not lose out in any way.
If
there is one positive to come out of the expenses scandal, it is that
the rules about what MPs may claim for will be clearly stated, and the
confusion and uncertainty that new MPs like myself faced in 2005 will
be avoided.
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