John Penrose

Conservative Party | Weston-super-Mare

Parliamentary Allowances – Weston MP Charts a Middle Course

In a league table detailing annual parliamentary allowances claimed by Britain’s 646 MPs to cover the cost of running their offices, Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose is bang in the middle, with a spend of £137,195 and a ranking of 336.

 

The House of Commons Fees Office table of Parliamentary Allowance Expenditure (PAE) for all MPs in the financial year 2006/2007 is published today (Thurs, Oct 25) and due to be placed on the www.parliament.uk website at about 3.30p.m.

 

At the same time, the Weston MP is posting his own individual House of Commons regulated expenditure table on his website, www.johnpenrose.co.uk , for constituents to see how the Conservative MP spends taxpayer's money in doing his job.

 

That table is included below and tracks the financial years 2006/07; 2005/06; 2004/05 and 2003/04, providing a comparison of how John Penrose’s spending compares to his predecessor, Brian Cotter MP, in the years before the 2005 General Election. Lib Dem Brian – now Lord - Cotter’s rankings over the financial years 2004/05 and 2003/04 respectively stood at 120^th out of 659 MPs and 197^th out of 657MPs.

 

The House of Commons new PAE table lists John Penrose’s costs for his first full financial year in office as MP for Weston and its surrounding villages. It shows a total annual growth compound over two years of 1.03% - well below inflation.

 

The MP was voted into office in May 2005 so his parliamentary allowances for the financial year 2005/06 were artificially low to begin with because a full year’s costs were not incurred while he got his parliamentary staff and office together in the months following the General Election.

 

Details of the 2006/07 House of Commons Parliamentary Expenditure Allowance table show:

 

o Additional Costs Allowance (ACA). Paid to help MPs with the extra expense of staying in Westminster each week, since Parliamentary debates often last until 10.30p.m. or later. John Penrose’s expenditure increased from £9,808 in starter year 2005/06 to £21,679 in 2006/07 as he established a flat near to Parliament.

 

o Incidental Expenses Provision (IEP), covering the cost of rent, equipment and supplies for John Penrose’s constituency office at 24 Alexandra Parade, Weston. Up from £19,963 in 2005/06 to £22,679 in 2006/07. The MP pays his own home office expenses.                                                                                          

 

o Staffing Allowance (SA). Up from £70,985 in 2005/06 to £86,122 in 2006/07 during which time John Penrose completed the recruitment of his initial three-strong parliamentary staff. None of this money is paid to John or his family.            

 

John Penrose says, “I try to be as conservative and respectful as possible in  spending what is in fact tax payers money. I now have a brilliant team of four parliamentary staff - three based in Weston and one in the House of Commons - who help me act as Weston’s voice in Westminster.

 

“I always take the train from my family home in Winscombe to London and Westminster because it’s faster and more environmentally friendly than the car and it means I can work as I travel. The train can and does take the strain.”

 

Salary-wise, John Penrose does not believe he should set his own pay, pension or allowances and has pledged to abstain if asked to vote on this issue in Parliament.

 

Since making his pledge, David Cameron has backed the idea and has committed the entire Conservative Party to change the way MPs pay and conditions are decided in future.

John Penrose, MP, Weston-super-Mare:- House of Commons Parliamentary Allowance Expenditure Table:

 

	John Penrose's Allowances		Brian Cotter's Allowances
Type	2006/07	2005/06	2004/05	2003/04
Additional Costs Allowance	£21,679	£9,808	£20,902	£20,325
Incidental Expenses Provision	£22,348	£19,963	£19,325	£18,727
Staffing Allowance	£86,122	£70,985	£73,863	£71,773
Members' Travel	£4,033	£4,393	£7,894	£9,245
Members' Staff Travel	£16	£94	£1,537	£584
Centrally Purchased Stationery	£340	£1,341	£635	£792
Stationery: Associated Postage Costs	£1,480	£2,513	£2,130	£2,174
Centrally Provided Computer Equipment	£1,177	£1,177	£1,817	£1,817
Other Costs	£0	£0	£6,310	£0
Total	£137,195	£110,274	£134,413	£125,437
Ranking	336th out of 646	Full year not incurred	120th out of 659	197th out of 657