Select Committee on Standards and Privileges Second Report


Annex E

Letter to Mr Roy Beggs MP from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

41 STATION ROAD, LARNE

Thank you for your letter of 20 June 2001.

I look forward to receiving a copy of the information from the Valuation and Lands Agency as soon as possible, giving the rent levels appropriate to the property for the years 1988 to date.

You say you do not recollect the specific wording in the last paragraph of my letter of 9 May 2001. Following our meetings and correspondence during my previous enquiry you wrote to me as follows on 20 March 2001—

"If I have acted incorrectly then I will be guided as to how I can put things right and accept the consequences.

I have no other interests which should have been registered."

I included this quote in full on page 17 of my draft report which I sent to you for comment and corrections on 20 March 2001. We met on 21 March and you suggested some corrections but did not correct this quotation which was then included in the published report on page xvi.

In the light of this information, if you wish to make further a comment to me about any property interests which you now feel should have been registered, perhaps you would do so.

One final point raised by your letter. You say you have not had tax assessed against the benefit you have received from your rent allowance. You may find it helpful to contact your tax office to check that your tax affairs in relation to the rent allowance for the years 1988 to date are settled. I would be grateful for sight of the confirmation that this is so.

May I now have your permission to seek confirmation from the Finance Office of the information you have provided concerning the allowances you have received from the OCA in respect of rent in the period 1988 to date?

I look forward to hearing from you.

25 June 2001





 
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