Rundown of what the West Midland MPs claimed for
Jonathan Walker spoke to and met the MPs serving Birmingham and the West Midlands, asking to see their expenses claims.
I began the process of contacting local MPs and asking if I could go to their offices and rummage through their expenses claims. Even if the material hasn’t been published by the House of Commons, individual MPs could still let me see it.
Most of them said yes, and so I’ve been in their offices examining documents which contain all sorts of personal details, including credit card and bank account numbers (information which will understandably need to be censored before the receipts can be formally published).
See the video at Jonathan Walker's blog here >
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Richard Burden: (Lab Northfield)
Allowed us to see his receipts.
Mr Burden spent more than £7,000 on improving the London flat which he owned. This included £2,428 on decorating in March 2006, including £92 on shelves and £82 to hang pictures.
In March 2005 he spent £2,493 on carpeting and flooring. And Mr Burden claimed £2,350 for lighting, wiring and other electrical work in March 2008.
He said: “My view has been that you should be able to claim for the things you would expect to find if you were staying in a hotel or renting a furnished flat.”
He added: “But I think what happened in the Commons is that we lost sight of what the public would see as reasonable.
“The lesson is that what we understand to be reasonable is not necessarily what our constituents would.”
In 2008 he was claiming £598 monthly for a mortgage for his London property.
Liam Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill)
Cabinet Office Minister Liam Byrne has not yet released his full expenses claims. A spokesman said the Cabinet was to publish their receipts together, probably early next week.
However, he supplied the Birmingham Post with a summary of all his claims for 2007-8, which include:
* Rent £14,071
* £219.99 for TV bought in Currys, £48 for Sainsbury’s bed linen, and £30 for towels
Roger Godsiff (Lab Sparkbrook & Small Heath)
Has not requested copies of his receipts from the Commons fees office. MPs have been offered copies to check before they are published, but Mr Godsiff has not taken them up on the offer.
He told us he had used the Additional Cost Allowance solely to subsidise mortgage interest payments on his second home in London. He claimed £23,083, the maximum possible, in 2007-8.
John Hemming (Lib Dem Yardley)
Allowed us to see his receipts.
Claims £9,900 a year on the mortgage of his second home in London. In 2007 he attempted to claim for a £388.99 mobile internet service from Vodafone - but the Commons authorities refused to pay. The service was a device which connects to a laptop computer, and allows users to access the internet anywhere there is a phone signal.
Mr Hemming then tried to claim for a digital television which also functioned as a basic computer and was able to send e-mails, for £1,569.95.
Again, this claim was rejected, apparently because MPs are not allowed to claim expenses for computer equipment on their second home allowance. But the fees office did pay £750 towards the cost, because Mr Hemming was allowed to claim for a television. They also repaid the £70.95 cost of a television aerial.
The MP submitted a Tesco bill for £8.41 from July 2007, which included cleaning materials such as £1.51 for Flash spray, 95p for some Fairy Liquid and 52p for Spontex scouring pads.
Mr Hemming has announced he is to stop claiming the second home allowance.
Lynne Jones (Lab Selly Oak)
Gave us a summary of her claims. Has also led the way in publishing details of her expenses on her web site.
Her claims included £240 for a picture for her London flat in September 2005, and £183.62 for another picture in October 2005.
In March 2006, she submitted a claim for £775 for pictures and framing, but was told this would not be approved.
In the same month, she claimed £1,300 for a rug, and received £600. In October 2006 she claimed £1,306.90 for work on the flat, including £706.90 for wallpaper and £600 for decorating.
Other claims included:
* A £1,298 bed, mattress and drawer in January 2005. She also claimed £28.98 for a hairdryer in January 2005.
* £7.99 for a teapot in August 2007.
* £14.99 for a toaster in February 2008.
Claims for the mortgage on her London flat - in March 2008 the monthly figure was £340.17.
Khalid Mahmood (Lab Perry Barr)
Allowed us to see his receipts.
Claimed expenses for a hotel in London when he first became an MP. In October 2004 he claimed £650 for four nights at the Bentley Hotel, in Kensington, London, which included charges of £150 a night for a room
The bill shows that he stayed at the hotel with his then partner. However, the cost was reclaimed in full. Questioned about this, Mr Mahmood told us the room cost the same amount whether one person stayed in it or two.
In November he claimed the full £474.25 cost for three nights at the hotel, again with his partner. The bill included £17.50 for food and £6 on the minibar.
By December 2004 he was no longer staying in hotels and instead claiming rent of £1,500 a month on a London flat. Mr Mahmood has not claimed for furniture.
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