Sussex MPs make £50,000 worth of claims (From The Argus)

Sussex MPs make £50,000 worth of claims

1:30pm Saturday 4th June 2011 in News

Tube fares, TV licenses and copies of The Argus were among more than £50,000 of claims Sussex MPs made in expenses in just two months.

Receipts published by the parliamentary independent watchdog show our elected representatives in Westminster claimed back on average more than £3,000 in January and February addition to their basic salaries.

And with rules set to be relaxed, authorities believe the total bill of £3.2 million claimed by the country's MPs in that period will increase in the coming months.

The most recent data for the first two months of this year show hundreds of claims from all 16 Sussex MPs amounted to £51,623.47.

Children's minister Tim Loughton was the highest claimant with £9,872.53.

Among the East Worthing and Shoreham MP's claims were restaurant bills in Parliament, petrol money for his own car and copies of local newspapers.

Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd was the second highest claimant with £6,776.52 in January and February.

This included £335 to set up a website and £1,560 on hotels in central London.

Meanwhile Energy Minister and Wealden MP Charles Hendry claimed £6,624.93, which went entirely to the Wealden Conservative Association for fees for his agent.

Among Cabinet Office minister and Horsham MP Francis Maude's claims for £4,464.73 were two direct debit payments for a TV licence while transport minister and Lewes MP Norman Baker claimed for tube fares for an intern from Westminster to Grange Hill.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas claimed nearly £1,000 for hotel stays in central London while Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby spent £120 on hiring out community venues.

Peter Bottomley (Worthing West), Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs), Nick Gibb (Bognor and Littlehampton) and Andrew Tyrie (Chichester) did not make any claims.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which now deals with MPs' claims in the wake of the expenses scandal, said it costs £2 on average to process each receipt.

But Climate Change Minister Greg Barker charged the taxpayer separate claims for 40p and 88p for journeys of one mile.

It is the second time running the Bexhill and Battle MP has done this.

He has previously told The Argus the claims were part of bigger submissions that have simply been broken down to give a clearer picture of where he had travelled.

The total payments for the start of this year were the same as for the last two months of 2010.

In a series of concessions to soothe MPs furious about the system introduced in the wake of the Westminster pay and perks scandal, Ipsa is now allowing them to spend more.

The controversial changes were announced in March after complaints from MPs that the system created in the wake of the expenses scandal is too restrictive and bureaucratic.

Ipsa has refused to estimate how much the changes would cost the taxpayer, saying it would depend on what MPs decided to claim.

The extra staff spending for 650 MPs could potentially reach £3.25 million, and the accommodation bill is likely to rise by hundreds of thousands of pounds.