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| 'Lump sum expenses plan' for MPs | 'Lump sum expenses plan' for MPs |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| MPs could seek to avoid future expenses criticism by awarding themselves an automatic lump sum of £23,000 a year for second homes, a newspaper says. | |
| According to the Times, the automatic grant will be a key recommendation of a review of MPs' expenses, led by The Speaker Michael Martin. | |
| The move would avoid the need for MPs to submit claims backed by receipts. | The move would avoid the need for MPs to submit claims backed by receipts. |
| A spokeswoman for the committee said its report was not yet ready and it was too early to specify its findings. | A spokeswoman for the committee said its report was not yet ready and it was too early to specify its findings. |
| There was embarrassment for some MPs when receipts and invoices submitted in support of their claims for the Additional Costs Allowance were released last week after the High Court ruled they could not be exempted from Freedom of Information Act requirements. | There was embarrassment for some MPs when receipts and invoices submitted in support of their claims for the Additional Costs Allowance were released last week after the High Court ruled they could not be exempted from Freedom of Information Act requirements. |
| Window cleaning | Window cleaning |
| Although the claims did not breach parliamentary rules, eyebrows were raised at the sums claimed by former minister Margaret Beckett for her garden and by Stevenage MP Barbara Follett for window cleaning. | Although the claims did not breach parliamentary rules, eyebrows were raised at the sums claimed by former minister Margaret Beckett for her garden and by Stevenage MP Barbara Follett for window cleaning. |
| Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was shown to have paid a water bill late and John Prescott to have spent taxpayers' money on a mock Tudor gable for his Hull home. | Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was shown to have paid a water bill late and John Prescott to have spent taxpayers' money on a mock Tudor gable for his Hull home. |
| Following the ruling, all MPs' Additional Cost Allowance claims are to be released later in the year. | Following the ruling, all MPs' Additional Cost Allowance claims are to be released later in the year. |
| The process which could involve publication of more than a million pages of documentation detailing how much public money is spent on mortgage payments, utility bills, kitchen appliances and home renovations for MPs, who need to run second homes away from their constituencies. | The process which could involve publication of more than a million pages of documentation detailing how much public money is spent on mortgage payments, utility bills, kitchen appliances and home renovations for MPs, who need to run second homes away from their constituencies. |
| If a lump sum payment were made to each MP, the need for these documents to be produced would disappear and there could be a considerable cash boost for those MPs who spend less than the £23,000 permitted. | If a lump sum payment were made to each MP, the need for these documents to be produced would disappear and there could be a considerable cash boost for those MPs who spend less than the £23,000 permitted. |
| The House of Commons' Estimate Committee's report on the reform of Westminster's system of allowances is to be presented to Parliament next month. | The House of Commons' Estimate Committee's report on the reform of Westminster's system of allowances is to be presented to Parliament next month. |
| The committee's spokeswoman said: "The review continues to be work in progress and there is still a lot of work to be done before its contents are known." | The committee's spokeswoman said: "The review continues to be work in progress and there is still a lot of work to be done before its contents are known." |
| The review was launched after a row over Tory MP Derek Conway, who paid his son from the public purse for apparently little work. | The review was launched after a row over Tory MP Derek Conway, who paid his son from the public purse for apparently little work. |