MPs

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
 

David Varney, head of the Revenue and Customs, confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, was liable to pay tax on a four-bedroom London flat which he rented at a subsidised rate for more than 30 years. He said Mr Prescott must abide by the same tax rules as the rest of the population, regardless of his position in Government. The Deputy Prime Minister paid a rent of £220-a-month while he lived in the four-bedroom Martime House flat in Clapham Common for 33 years. Although the luxury flat would have fetched around £1,600-a-month on the open market by the time he left in 2003, Mr Prescott's rent was fixed at a cheap rate.

Tax experts said the Deputy Prime Minister should pay tax on the property as it had been a 'benefit in kind', which was provided to him solely because of his job as an MP. They pointed out that Mr Prescott had effectively received benefits worth £1,400-a-month or £16,800-a-year. Tax on benefits in kind is calculated by taking 5% of the value of the benefit and taxing that at the 40% top rate. In the seven years between the tax rules being introduced in 1997 and Mr Prescott being forced to leave the flat he should have paid tax of around £2,300. The legislation allowed tax inspectors to make retrospective claims, which could leave Mr Prescott with a bill approaching £10,000 for his 33 tenure in the flat.

Mr Varney said he could not comment on 'individual cases' but added, "What I can tell you is that the tax rules which apply when someone is provided with accommodation, because of his or her office or employment, are the same for Government Ministers as for other taxpayers." Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at accountants Grant Thornton, said he does not qualify for any exemption from tax, which can only be given if he had had to stay in the flat if it was essential for his job or for his personal security. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)

John Prescott is costing taxpayers £2million a year by enjoying a string of state-funded perks and a Whitehall empire staffed by an army of civil servants, despite having no real job. According to official figures, foreign travel, expenses, a dedicated website, his official chauffeur-driven Jag and a luxury flat in Admiralty House bring the bill to £2million. A 20-strong staff in Whitehall, including a Principal Private Secretary paid £100,000 a year, two junior Private Secretaries each paid £60,000 a year, two special advisers each paid at £75,000, three policy advisers, and 12 other administrators and press officers together cost £1.3 million.

He enjoys a Cabinet minister's salary of £134,000 and a pension costing £35,000 a year. Expenses and allowances, including the upkeep on his constituency home in Hull, come in at £105,000. He is chauffeur-driven to and from work in a £49,000 armourplated Jag, and is accompanied by two Special Branch officers everywhere he goes. Other travel, including foreign trips cost £93,034, running costs for his Whitehall office are £64,267, departmental 're-branding' cost £12,000 and a new official website dedicated to Mr Prescott costs £30,000.

Mr Prescott is also in line for a gold-plated retirement. If he stops work in 2010, with 40 years' parliamentary service under his belt, he will receive a £55,620 index-linked annual pension. His pension pot will be worth an estimated £1.5million. But he will also be entitled to a £92,499 payment to help him 'adjust ' to life outside Parliament when he goes. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)

MPs have been given free World Cup tickets by McDonald's, to watch England's opening game against Paraguay, as hundreds of fans are being locked out of England's matches. Clive Betts, the Labour chairman of the football club, who will be going to Germany, defended their trip by saying the group had raised thousands of pounds for charity. McDonald's initially denied offering any 'corporate hospitality, travel or accommodation' to the football-loving MPs, insisting it was 'a self-funded, self-organised trip' for which they were providing 'standard tickets'.

But the company later admitted that it has given the MPs Category One tickets, which have a face value of £70 but have been selling for up to £1,000 on the black market. The seats are nearly three times as expensive as the standard £24 World Cup tickets at Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena, and command the best view. McDonald's also asked FIFA to book the Parliamentary football group into Frankfurt's £230-a-night four-star Dorint Novotel hotel, complete with sauna, Turkish bath and swimming pool, for three nights.

The company twice denied any plans to entertain the MPs, but when pressed a spokesman admitted, "McDonald's does not have any corporate hospitality for the match. However, I can confirm we have offered to take them for an informal meal at a local restaurant." The Parliamentary Football Club, whose members include Health Minister Andy Burnham and Pensions Minister James Purnell, secured the tickets after approaching McDonald's, despite its role in the long-running storm over healthy eating. Proving yet again that nothing gets in the way of a freebie. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)

Nine cleaners had to be sent in to scrub out the love nest where John Prescott's had his affair with mistress Tracey Temple, leaving the taxpayer with a £3,320 bill. And £500 of that was for wiping chandeliers! Tories used Freedom of Information laws to dig out invoices showing the Foreign Office hired eight cleaners and a supervisor for the operation.

The team worked a total of 72 hours at the three-bedroom flat in Admiralty House, off London's Whitehall. They moved in after Prescott stood down as deputy PM, freeing the apartment for new Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown to move in. Shadow Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said, "Never in the field of human cleaning has one man owed so much to so many cleaners.

The sheer scale and cost of the cleaning exercise begs questions over the state Mr Prescott left it in." He said the commercial rate for an ordinary job would have been £210, but the invoices show that £815.93 was paid for cleaning curtains and chairs alone. Window cleaning added £284.10 and £1,225.21 went on the cleaners and supervisor, with VAT on top. A Foreign Office spokesman said, "A deep clean is normal practice between moving out and in." (Source: Sunday People, Mar/08)

MPs squeezed £6.1million out of taxpayers last year to subsidise cut-price food and drink in the House of Commons. The subsidy meant bars, restaurants and cafeterias within the Palace of Westminster could sell lavish meals and fine wines at around half the cost ordinary consumers would pay. Taxpayer contributions to catering for MPs and peers soared by more than £550,000 compared with the previous year.

The revelations by Commons officials came as the Government launched a new “food strategy” urging families to cut waste and accept higher prices. Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, said, “This subsidy is bonkers and yet another example of MPs expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for their every need.” Liz Thorne, of the campaign group End Child Poverty, said, “Perks such as these must surely be first to go. MPs would do well to support abolition of food subsidies.”

Commons figures showed that 1,599,873 meals were served in Parliament during the financial year 2008/09, subsidised to the tune of 45%. Officials say the subsidy is being trimmed to 41%. Commons officials said, “A range of catering and retail services is provided to Members of Parliament, their staff, staff of the House and visitors in a number of outlets from bars, table service restaurants and self-service cafeterias.”

They added, “The overall subsidy for these services including staff costs in 2008/09 was £6,104,878.” MPs have access to nearly a dozen bars and restaurants. In the Members’ Dining Room, sirloin steak with béarnaise sauce and chips costs just £7.10, while pork chop served with parsnip mash and sage jus is £6.40. Starters include terrine of smoked fish at £3.40 or crayfish cocktail with broccoli guacamole at £3.90.

In the bars, a glass of champagne costs £5.40, a pint of lager £2.30, and a glass of wine £1.80. Tea and coffee is around 50p a cup. Commons officials insist the Palace of Westminster is a workplace and provides subsidised catering just like many other employers. (Source: Daily Express, Aug/09)

New MPs are to be handed brand new laptop computers at taxpayers’ expense on arrival in Westminster. The move is part of a new “induction procedure” to help them rapidly adapt to working in Parliament. Even if the computers are budget models bought and kitted out with software at cheap wholesale prices, the move is likely to cost public funds at least £150,000. Laptops will allow the new members to work at “hot desks” while Commons officials and party whips decide who gets which office. Commons sources claimed the laptops were needed to ensure MPs could work for their constituents as soon as possible. They say the laptops will be paid for out of existing budgets. MPs will also get briefings on how to claim expenses within days. (Source: Daily Express, May/10)