30. LETTER
TO
MS
SARA
SMITH
FROM
THE
COMMISSIONER,
22 APRIL
2009
I would welcome your help with a complaint I have
received against your sister, Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP, in respect
of the identification of the house she shares with you as her
main home for the purposes of her claims against the House of
Commons Additional Costs Allowance.
I would be very grateful if you could describe for
me the arrangements you have with Ms Smith for her accommodation
in London. In a letter to me, Ms Smith has written as follows:
"I… wanted my London home to be more
than simply a bolt hole, I wanted it to be a real family home
and I have a close relationship with my sister."
…
"I can state that over the 2008 Summer recess
and the 2008 Christmas holiday period I spent a significant proportion
of my time at my London home."
…
"In April 2008, I moved in London to […
Road] where I currently live with my sister and her partner.
This is a three bedroom house which was bought for £450,000.
My sister has a mortgage on the house. I am a guarantor of the
mortgage. There have been various newspaper descriptions of my
living arrangements in this house - most of which are wholly inaccurate.
I do not 'rent a room', I share the house. I pay rent of £700
a month on which my sister pays tax. In addition, I contribute
to other bills such as utilities and cleaning. I buy the TV licence.
We eat together and I contribute about £150 a month towards
food. I have bought fixtures, fittings and furniture throughout
the house. I recently paid £1000 as a share of having a
new boiler. I have entertained friends and other family members
there. In particular, we chose to have a third bedroom partly
so that my children can have a room to sleep in when they come
up in school holidays and for weekends. We provide emotional
support to each other when photographers are camped outside!"
I would be very grateful if you could confirm for
me your sister's description of the way she shared the accommodation.
The evidence your sister has given me from her diaries
suggests that in most weeks, including in the parliamentary recess,
she has overnighted at your shared address from Monday to Wednesday
inclusive, with some Thursday nights and a few part weekends.
I would be grateful if you could confirm this with any evidence
you may have to support this.
It would be helpful too if you could confirm that
Ms Smith and her family spent the nights of 24-26 December inclusive,
and 31 December 2008, at your shared address again with any evidence
you may have to support this.
Any other points you would wish to add explaining
how the arrangements work and the use your sister has of the accommodation
would be most helpful.
I enclose a note which sets out the procedure I follow
in inviting evidence from witnesses. You will see that this letter
is marked private and confidential and remains subject to Parliamentary
privilege, as does your reply, which should not be disclosed more
widely. If I decide to prepare a memorandum for the Committee
on Standards and Privileges on this matter it would be likely
to form part of the evidence I attach to that memorandum and it
is likely to be published by the Committee alongside its report.
I am also likely to show your response to Ms Smith during the
course of this inquiry.
If you were able to let me have a response within
the next three weeks, I would be particularly grateful. Thank
you for your help.
22 April 2009
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