Published: Thursday, 4th February, 2010 12:00pm

Report out on MPs' expenses repayments

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BRACKNELL MP Andrew MacKay and his MP wife Julie Kirkbride were asked to repay £60,000 for doubling up on their second home expenses.

Parliamentary standards investigator Sir Thomas Legg's report published today (Thursday) revealed that the MPs - both due to stand down at the next election - unsuccessfully appealed against repaying the money but have now given it back.

The report also showed that Wokingham MP John Redwood unsuccessfully appealed against repaying £112 he claimed under the previous expenses rules for having his lawn reseeded.

Windsor MP Adam Afriyie was not found to have made any unallowable claims during the period back to 2004 covered by the report.

The Right Hon Sir Paul Kennedy, who ruled on the appeals, said in his response to Mr MacKay's appeal against paying £29,243 claimed by designating his London flat as his second home while Miss Kirkbride claimed their constituency property as her second home: "We are concerned here with admissible claims against public funds, and, as the Speaker wrote in his introduction to the Green Book (April 2005 edition), 'Members themselves are responsible for ensuring that their use of allowances is above reproach.'

"You say that the way in which you and your wife designated your homes was in accordance with advice given by the Fees Office. If so it seems to me that the advice was plainly mistaken, and indeed that you should have recognised it to be mistaken.

"As I have said in my letter to your wife, the fundamental reason why the arrangements which you made cannot be regarded as acceptable is that they lost sight of the purpose of Additional Costs Allowance, which was to assist Members to fund the cost of accommodation when they needed a second home in order to fulfil their duties. It was never intended to relieve them of the costs of their main home, and you operated it in such a way as to achieve that result."

Mr MacKay was also asked to repay £1,950 that exceeded the cleaning allowance. Miss Kirkbride, MP for Bromsgrove, was asked to repay £29,243 in allowances for her "second home".

John Redwood tried to appeal against repaying £112 claimed for reseeding his lawn but Sir Kennedy said in his appeal report: "In your Grounds of Appeal to me you say that the expenditure was incurred re-seeding worn patches, a form of garden maintenance, and that the Fees Office raised no issue in relation to it.

"I entirely understand why you submitted the claim when you did, but, as was explained to you by a member of the Review Team in her email of November 3, 2009, 'the criteria used for the Review are such that only claims for basic garden maintenance are allowable (eg lawn cutting, weeding, pruning shrubs)'. I am sure that you would agree that anyone who has to decide what gardening expenses should be borne by public funds has to draw a line somewhere.

"The point at which it has been drawn by the Review for you and for all other Members seems to me to be clear and reasonable. It does not imply any lack of integrity on your part, but my Terms of Reference (a copy of which I enclose) only enable me to interfere if I find special reasons in your individual case showing that it would not be fair and equitable to require repayment. I can find no such reasons."

Mr Redwood said that his claim was admissible under the current rules when he made it in 2004/5 and said: "It was made openly and honestly and granted without question because it was clearly under the rules."

He added in relation to the appeal report: "As they have made it clear that is is no reflection on my character, I will repay the money and let the matter drop, but if they had not then I would have sued."