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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| MPs to lose second homes claims | MPs to lose second homes claims |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| MPs will not be allowed to buy taxpayer funded second homes under new expenses rules to start after the election. | MPs will not be allowed to buy taxpayer funded second homes under new expenses rules to start after the election. |
| Those with constituencies 20 miles or 60 minutes from Westminster will be able to claim up to £1,450 a month - the equivalent of a one bed flat. | Those with constituencies 20 miles or 60 minutes from Westminster will be able to claim up to £1,450 a month - the equivalent of a one bed flat. |
| Expenses chief Sir Ian Kennedy said all claims would require receipts. Payoffs to retiring MPs will be stopped but MPs will be able to employ one relative. | |
| He said the "tough" rules were a "clear break" with the old discredited system. | He said the "tough" rules were a "clear break" with the old discredited system. |
| Sir Ian, head of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, has been considering proposals drawn up after a seven-month inquiry last year. | Sir Ian, head of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, has been considering proposals drawn up after a seven-month inquiry last year. |
| Profits recouped | |
| He rejected its proposal that MPs should not be allowed to claim to employ any relatives - he said they could offer "value for money" as long as there were safeguards in place. | |
| He said there would be "no second homes under the new rules" for MPs - instead they would be able to rent accommodation up to the value of a one-bedroom flat. | |
| He said only those with constituencies at least 20 miles outside Westminster - or a 60-minute commute from Parliament - would be able to do so, which would stop 128 MPs from claiming for a second home at all. | |
| It's not our job to punish MPs for past wrongdoings, it's our job to publish new rules that give the public value for money and allow MPs to do their jobs Sir Ian Kennedy | |
| MPs who already own taxpayer-funded second homes will be able to keep claiming until August 2012 - a shorter timescale than the five years Sir Christopher had recommended - but Sir Ian said profits would be "recouped". | |
| "It's not our job to punish MPs for past wrongdoings, it's our job to publish new rules that give the public value for money and allow MPs to do their jobs," he said. | |
| MPs with children aged under five, single parents with children under 21 and those caring for disabled children will get "extra support", Sir Ian said. |