Taxpayers fork out for North's peers

Apr 7 2009 by William Green, The Journal

TAXPAYERS have forked out hundreds of thousands of pounds in expenses to a handful of North East peers. Members of the Lords insisted expenses were necessary as it emerged £374,449 was claimed by 11 peers who declared their main homes are in the region in 2007-08.

Lord Foster of Bishop Auckland – the area’s former MP – did not state his main residence, but claimed expenses totalling £61,748 with 144 days in Parliament.

The expense claim by former Durham police chief Lord Mackenzie totalled £54,907, but he attended Parliament on 139 days.

Liberal Democrat Lord Redesdale from Northumberland also attended on 139 days and claimed £52,633.

His “overnight subsistence” claim, used for accommodation, was £22,693 compared to £23,159 for Labour’s Lord Mackenzie whose main home is in Durham.

The allowance can be used to claim accommodation costs in London, including maintaining a second home, and when peers are away on Parliamentary business. The maximum daily rate stood at up to £165.50 in August 2007 up to March last year.

Peers could also claim up to £82.50 for daily subsistence for food and incidental travel, with Lord Redesdale claiming the highest amount at £11,312 in total.

The latest available register of peers’ expenses shows travel costs between peers’ main homes and Westminster appear to vary widely. Lord Dixon, whose main residence is in South Tyneside, claimed £6,145 in travelling costs having attended Parliament on 91 days. Darlington’s Lord Inge claim was £3,492 for 90 days in Parliament.