71. Letter to the Director of Operations,
Department of Resources, from the Commissioner, 15 March 2010
I would welcome your advice and comments on a complaint
I have received against Ms Julie Kirkbride MP in respect of the
use by her brother of her constituency property in Bromsgrove
against which she made claims from the Additional Costs Allowances.
In essence, the complaint is that Ms Kirkbride made
claims against her Additional Costs Allowance for costs which
were not wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the
purpose of performing her parliamentary duties. I have taken the
period of the complaint to cover the financial years from 2004-05
to 2008-09 inclusive.
I attach a copy of the relevant extracts from the
complainant's letters of 23[202]
and 30 October, together with a copy of the relevant press reports
he appended. I enclose also a copy of the Registrar's letter of
28 October[203]
to which the complainant referred; a copy of the response from
Ms Kirkbride of 21 January (which was delayed after Ms Kirkbride
raised with me concerns about double jeopardy with Sir Thomas
Legg's audit); my letter to her of 26 January; her response of
11 February; my letter to her of 17 February; her response of
4 March; and my letter to her of 9 March. In addition, I enclose
a copy of my letter to her brother of 17 February, his response
of 11 March, and my letter to him of 15 March. (I will send you
his response to this when I receive it.)
I would welcome your comments and advice on the this
complaint, taking account, as necessary, of the findings of Sir
Thomas Legg's audit and the appeal made to Sir Paul Kennedy, the
results of which have, of course, been published. In particular,
it would be helpful to know whether the Department considers that
the use of the accommodation by Ms Kirkbride's brother to provide
childcare support (and some IT support) was within the Green Book
rules, taking account of the rule that claims may not be made
for the living costs of anyone other than the Member. How would
the Department normally expect to apply this provision in the
case of people supporting a Member with childcare?
Secondly, it would be helpful to know, in the circumstances
described by Ms Kirkbride and her brother, whether it was within
the rules of the House for Ms Kirkbride to claim for the interest
on a mortgage increased to enable her to build a third bedroom
in the constituency property, taking account of the relevant Green
Book rules at the time this initial mortgage was claimed for.
Thirdly, it would be helpful if you could give me
some factual information about Ms Kirkbride's claims, including
her ACA claims from 2004-05 to 2008-09 inclusive by category,
and if you could identify when Ms Kirkbride began to claim for
the interest on the additional mortgage for the work on the additional
bedroom.
Finally, it would be helpful if you could let me
know of the details of any discussions which the Department has
had with Ms Kirkbride, or someone on her behalf, about her childcare
arrangements or her plans for extending her constituency property.
Any other points you may wish to make would, of course,
be very welcome.
If you could let me have a response to this letter
within the next three weeks, I would be most grateful. Thank you
for your help.
15 March 2010
202 Not included in the written evidence - see WE 1 Back
203
Not included in the written evidence - see WE 1 Back
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