|
Ms Julie Kirkbride
57. Letter to Ms Julie Kirkbride from
the Commissioner, 5 November 2009
I would welcome your help on a complaint I have received
from Mr Michael Goggins about the claims you made against the
Additional Costs Allowance for your constituency home.
I attach a copy of the relevant extracts from the
complainant's letters of 23 and 30 October, together with a copy
of the relevant press reports he has appended. I enclose also
a copy of the Registrar's letter of 28 October to which the complainant
refers. [196]
In essence, the complaint is that you made claims
against your Additional Costs Allowance for costs which were not
wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of
performing your parliamentary duties. I take the period of the
complaint to cover the financial years from 2004-05 to 2008-09
inclusive. You will see that the complainant has also raised a
complaint against Rt Hon Andrew Mackay MP.
The Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament sets
out in paragraph 14:
"Members shall at all times ensure that their
use of expenses, allowances, facilities and services provided
from the public purse is strictly in accordance with the rules
laid down on these matters, and that they observe any limits placed
by the House on the use of such expenses, allowances, facilities
and services."
The provisions in relation to the Additional Costs
Allowance which appear to be of most relevance to the period of
this complaint were set out in the Green Book published in July
2006.
In his introduction, the Speaker wrote:
"Members themselves are responsible for ensuring
that their use of allowances is above reproach. They should seek
advice in cases of doubt and read the Green Book with care. In
cases of doubt or difficulty about any aspect of the allowances
or how they can be used, please contact the Department of Finance
and Administration. The Members Estimate Committee, which I chair,
has recently restated the Department's authority to interpret
and enforce these rules."
The provisions in relation to the Additional Costs
Allowance are set out in Section 3 of that Green Book. Paragraph
3.1.1 sets out the scope of the allowance as follows:
"The Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) reimburses
Members of Parliament for expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily
incurred when staying overnight away from their main UK residence
(referred to below as their main home) for the purpose of performing
Parliamentary duties. This excludes expenses that have been incurred
for purely personal or political purposes."
Paragraph 3.2.1 sets out eligibility as follows:
"You can claim ACA if:
a You have stayed overnight in the UK away from
your only or main home, and
b This was for the purpose of performing your
Parliamentary duties, and
c You have necessarily incurred additional costs
in so doing, and
d You represent a constituency in outer London
or outside London."
Paragraphs 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 set out the following
principles:
"You must ensure that arrangements for your
ACA claims are above reproach and that there can be no grounds
for a suggestion of misuse of public money. Members should bear
in mind the need to obtain value for money from accommodation,
goods or services funded from the allowances.
"You must avoid any arrangement which may
give rise to an accusation that you are, or someone close to you
is, obtaining an immediate benefit or subsidy from public funds
or that public money is being diverted for the benefit of a political
organisation."
Paragraph 3.5.3 provides:
"You must inform the Department if you are
claiming ACA in respect of a property which you share with another
Member."
Paragraph 3.6.1 deals with subletting, lodgers and
paying guests as follows:
"You are strongly advised to avoid subletting
or renting out any part of a property for which you claim the
additional costs allowance. However, if you have such an arrangement
you should send a copy of the agreement with your tenant or lodger
to the Department. We will reduce the ceiling on your claims for
that year by the rental income for that year."
Paragraph 3.7.3 deals with re-mortgaging as follows:
"Re-mortgaging is permissible if moving to
different accommodation or if repairing or improving your existing
ACA home.
"Members should consult the DFA before making
any major commitments."
Paragraph 3.11.1 provides the following definitions:
"Main home
When you enter Parliament we will ask you to give
the address of your main UK home on form ACA1 for the purposes
of ACA and travel entitlements. Members are expected to locate
their main homes in the UK. It is your responsibility to tell
us if your main home changes. This will remain your main home
unless you tell us otherwise.
"The location of your main home will normally
be a matter of fact. If you have more than one home, your main
home will normally be the one where you spend more nights than
any other. If there is any doubt about which is your main home,
please consult the Department of Finance and Administration.
"Constituency
For the purpose of the ACA, overnight stays within
20 miles of your constituency boundary are regarded as overnight
stays within your constituency.
"London
Similarly, for the purposes of the ACA, overnight
stays within 20 miles of the Palace of Westminster are deemed
to be overnight stays within London."
Paragraph 3.13.1 gives examples of expenditure allowable
under the ACA, including:
- "Maintenance
& service agreements
- necessary repairs to make good dilapidations
- decoration"
Paragraph 3.14.1 lists expenditure which is not allowable,
including the following:
- "Living costs for anyone
other than yourself
…
- The capital cost of repairs which go beyond
making good dilapidations and enhance the property."
The Green Book for June 2003, which covers some of
the period of this complaint, is broadly similar to the July 2006
version, except that it does not include the principles provided
in paragraphs 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 of the July 2006 Green Book, nor
were there boundary provisions for a constituency and London home
provided in paragraph 3.11.1 of the July 2006 Green Book.
I would welcome your comments on this complaint in
the light of this summary of the rules. In particular, it would
be helpful to know:
1. Which home you identified as your main home, and
which home as your second home for each financial year from 2004-05
to 2008-09, together with the relevant dates.
2. The purchase costs of each home and the details
of any mortgages which you hold or have held on your first and
second homes since 2004-05.
3. The nature of your accommodation in your second
home in your constituency, and who has lived there during the
period in question, together with dates.
4. What accommodation is available to anyone living
at the property who is not your partner or your dependent children.
5. What arrangements were made for your brother to
live at the property, the reasons for doing so, and whether you
have reflected the costs of his accommodation in the claims you
have made against the Additional Costs Allowance.
6. Whether you have lodged with the Department any
agreement with your brother as your tenant or lodger.
7. The ACA claims you have made for each financial
year from 2004-05 to 2008-09 inclusive, together with the main
categories against which you have claimed, identifying your mortgage
interest claims and what proportion of your total mortgage they
represent.
8. Whether, and if so why, you have extended the
property; whether this was on account of the presence of your
brother living in the property; the total cost of this work and
whether you claimed for any of this from the Additional Costs
Allowance and, if so, how much.
9. Whether, and if so when, you informed the Department
that you were claiming ACA in respect of a property which you
shared with another Member, namely the Rt Hon Andrew Mackay MP.
10. Whether you consulted the then Department of
Finance and Administration about any aspect of your arrangements.
If so, it would be helpful to have details of that consultation,
together with any documentary evidence you may have.
Any other points you may wish to make would, of course,
be very welcome.
I enclose a note which sets out the procedure I follow.
I have informed the complainant that I have accepted his complaint
and am writing to you about it.
It would be very helpful if you could let me have
a response to this letter within the next three weeks. If there
is any difficulty about this, or you would like a word about any
other matter relating to this complaint, please get in touch with
me at the House.
I would be very grateful for your help on this matter.
5 November 2009
196 Not included in the written evidence Back
| 
