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Peers face tighter expenses plan Peers face tighter expenses rules
(about 1 hour later)
Peers will get a daily allowance but will have to submit more receipts under new expenses rules. Peers will have to submit receipts for travel and overnight expenses and will see mortgage repayment claims phased out, under new proposals.
The Senior Salaries Review Body has been reviewing the system in the House of Lords after claims some peers abuse the £174-a-night overnight allowance. The Senior Salaries Review Body review followed claims some peers abuse the £174-a-night overnight allowance.
It proposed that the daily £75 office and £86.50 subsistence allowances be merged into a £200 attendance fee. It recommends overnight claims be cut to £140 with peers able to get a £200 daily fee when they attend Parliament.
But it said receipts must be provided for travel and peers should not claim towards mortgages on second homes. But it says peers should have to prove their attendance through an electronic "clocking on" system at Westminster.
BBC News chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said, for peers who claimed the maximum possible allowance, the new system amounted to a £5 a day rise, but introduced a raft of new rules governing them.
We urge the House to consider whether a system of electronic logging of presence on the parliamentary estate could be developed SSRB report
SSRB Chairman Bill Cockburn said the changes should not cost the taxpayer any more or any less than current arrangements, but conceded it would depend on how peers changed their behaviour under the new system.
Among proposals from the SSRB are that peers, who are unsalaried, get a £200 daily allowance on days they attend Parliament - and that ways to improve the system of "verifying and measuring" their attendance be investigated.
The report says the current system of proving attendance at Westminster is "antiquated" and open to abuse and urges the Lords to "consider whether a system of electronic logging of presence on the parliamentary estate could be developed".
It suggests existing electronic passes could be used to verify attendance when deciding on paying out expenses.
'Reasonable distance'
The £200 daily attendance allowance would include the current £75 office costs allowance and a £86.50 subsistence allowance for food and taxis - but would only be claimable on days Parliament is sitting. Currently peers can claim for 40 days a year when it is not.
Among other proposals are that claims for mortgage interest on "second homes" be phased out, that peers be taxed on their allowances and that those who live "within a reasonable commuting distance of the House" should not claim the overnight allowance.
Overnight claims should be restricted to rent, running costs on owned or rented properties and bed and breakfast at hotels or clubs, it says.
Our recommended overall level of financial support is broadly unchanged but the proposed conditions are more precise and transparent Bill CockburnSSRB chairman
It recommends a transitional period of five years for peers who already claim towards mortgage repayments on second homes.
Peers should also sign a declaration about which property is their "principal residence" and write a confidential statement explaining why it is not within commuting distance of Parliament.
On travel, peers are entitled to claim for first class rail tickets "where this is justified by their need to work" and business class flights outside Europe, but should have "regard to value for money", the report says.
All mileage claims should be explained and receipts provided for overnight and travel claims.
Receipts required
It also criticises "confusion" and "inconsistency" in allowances because of peers who are ministers and says the SSRB should be able to review the salary and allowances of peers who are ministers or office holders.
SSRB chairman Bill Cockburn said the proposals would "restore public confidence in the funding arrangements of the House of Lords".
The report said: "Our recommended overall level of financial support is broadly unchanged but the proposed conditions are more precise and transparent, requiring receipts for allowable expenditure on overnight accommodation and travel.
To give them a pay rise as reward for general abuse of expenses is madness John MannLabour MP
"We also recommend that the system be subject to independent audit including a sample of individual claims."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he accepts the proposals and the Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Royall will now take them forward.
But Labour MP John Mann argued the SSRB was effectively increasing pay for the Lords.
He said: "It's right that the rules should be made tighter so lazy lords can't exploit the system, but to give them a pay rise as reward for general abuse of expenses is madness.
"The Lords must be trying to create sympathy for the Commons, it's the only possible explanation."
Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman said the report would be debated in the Lords before Christmas, and a new regime could be in place for 2010-11 financial year.