45. Letter to Director of Strategic
Projects, Department of Resources, from the Commissioner, 12
August 2010
I am writing to show you the evidence which I have
received from the person who was then Head of the Fees Office
in September 1997, when Rt Hon Andrew Mackay met him to discuss
matters relating to the identification of his main and second
homes.
I have taken evidence from the then Head of the Fees
Office in relation to that meeting. In responding to that evidence,
Mr Mackay asked that I should refer to that witness parts of your
letter to me of 17 March. I therefore copied to the then Head
of the Fees Office the second and third paragraphs of that letter.
I attach an extract from the response of 8 August
which I have received from the then Head of the Fees Office addressed
to that part of your evidence. As you will see, the witness comments
on your own statements that "The
Department was certainly aware of the arrangements in the sense
that both Mr Mackay and Ms Kirkbride made their declarations openly.
I think that it is reasonable for Mr Mackay to have inferred from
this that the Department had not difficulty with the arrangements."
He says that he fails to see how that
inference could be made. He says that he does not know whether
anybody in the office would necessarily know that Mr Mackay and
Ms Kirkbride were married. And he does not know whether any subsequent
examination was made of their ACA claims by the compliance section
after payment had been made.
As you will know from Mr Mackay's evidence in his
letter of 21 January 2010, Mr Mackay did not inform the Fees Office
that he was sharing a property with another Member who was his
wife.
I would be grateful for any comments you may wish
to make on this evidence from the then Head of the Fees Office
in relation to the statements you made in your letter of 17 March
about whether it was reasonable for Mr Mackay to have inferred
from their declarations that the Department had no difficulty
with the arrangements. Could you also let me have a response to
the witness's suggestion about a Compliance Section check?
If you could let me have a response to this letter
by the end of this month, I would be most grateful.
12 August 2010
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