SOLIHULL’S two MPs claimed almost £45,000 in the six months after the expenses scandal broke.Liberal Democrat Lorely Burt and Conservative Caroline Spelman claimed £44,983.71 in costs including accommodation, council tax, travel and stationary, from June to December.
Solihull MP Mrs Burt claimed the most, £32,301.77.
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This included £8,836.83 mortgage interest and £518 council tax. Gas, electricity, insurance and TV Licence were also claimed for. Her travel bill was £2,195.
She also claimed £900 in food and drink. A daily £25 allowance for this ‘subsistence’ has now been scrapped.
Some £15,115.01 was spent on office running costs and £5,360.34 on communications.
Meriden MP Mrs Spelman claimed £8,277.94, for office and communication costs. This included advertisements for constituency surgeries.
Mrs Spelman – then shadow local government minister – claimed travel costs of £4,454.
She did not claim for the cost of her constituency home, as she had previously.
In 2008/09, Mrs Spelman claimed £7,523.27 out a possible £24,006 for her constituency home, including utility bills, cleaning and council tax.
Last year she was told to pay back £2,167.51 expenses.
Sir Thomas Legg told the Conservative MP to return the cash for cleaning, utilities and telephone bills following his audit of past claims.
Earlier in 2009 Mrs Spelman was asked to repay £9,600 by a Commons watchdog over claims her secretary looked after her children.
Click here and here for travel expenses, for July to December, and here for all other claims.
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