Former MPs in Sussex will receive tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to help them “resettle” after losing or giving up their jobs at the last election, a report revealed yesterday.

According to figures released to The Argus, six of the county’s ex-MPs would share £292,741 in resettlement grants.

Departing MPs are entitled to receive a one-off grant of between 50% and 100% of their annual salary, dependent on their age and length of service. The first £30,000 is tax-free and comes on top of the Parliamentary pension.

The resettlement grant is the equivalent of a redundancy payment, so MPs find it easier “adjusting to non–parliamentary life”.

In Sussex, the former MP in line to receive the biggest payout is Conservative Nigel Waterson, who lost his Eastbourne seat to Liberal Democrat Stephen Lloyd. The 59-year-old, who served as an MP for 18 years, will be offered £64,766 before tax, according to the TaxPayers’ Alliance’s report - equivalent to a full MP’s salary in 2009/10.

Labour’s Michael Foster (Hastings and Rye), David Lepper (Brighton Pavilion) and Laura Moffatt (Crawley), first elected in 1997, will be offered £54,403 each, while Des Turner, former MP for Brighton Kemptown, stands to receive the smaller sum of £32,383 because he has passed his 70th birthday. Celia Barlow is also in line to receive £32,383 after representing Hove for a single five-year term.

Across the UK, 218 departing MPs are entitled to a total of £10.4 million – an average of £47,706.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance, who calculated the figures, has called for payments to be limited to one month’s pay, and only for defeated MPs, said there was an opportunity in the new Parliament, with a high turnover of MPs, to “really change things”.

Policy Analyst John O’Connell said: “This vast sum of money will be frustrating for taxpayers, particularly after the expenses scandal. MPs should be aware that they are entering a contract with a fixed term – if they’re voted out it’s the end of the contract, not a redundancy.”

Ms Barlow, Dr Turner and Mrs Moffatt were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Mr Waterson and Mr Foster declined to comment.

David Lepper, former Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “There was a system in place when I retired which recognised this as a form of redundancy pay. Whether that’s voluntary or enforced, as far as I’m concerned that’s an entitlement I had. The new batch of MPs may have different views about these things and it’s for them to make a decision for the future, but those of us who retired this time planned for our retirement based on the established system of the time.”