Norman Lamb MPs' Expenses

I have long argued that all claims for expenses made by MPs should be open to public scrutiny, and when some MPs tried to prevent publication of expenses claims, I made it clear that I opposed their attempts at blocking publication - as did the rest of my Liberal Democrat colleagues. Like many people I was then horrified by the abuses which the media investigations uncovered last year. It was also scandalous that so much public money was spent on pursuing legal action to block publication.

You can read the public statement I made in May of 2009 about the abuse of the system for paying MPs expenses below this article.

I still believe it is essential that the system is thoroughly reformed, that MPs are fully accountable for what they claim, and for any abuses of the system to be dealt with properly. The Liberal Democrats have made it clear all along that we should accept the recommendations for reform of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the related reviews.

The recommendations for changes to the allowance system following this review are still being considered and consulted upon, but I welcome the fact that following the public scrutiny of MP's allowances and expenses last year, the House of Commons authorities have now put in place a more robust system of publication of all MPs expenses and allowances. The House has set up a searchable database for expenses and details of my claims and those of the MPs currently in the house can be found at http://mpsallowancesdb.parliament.uk/ The records will be updated each quarter and the first quarter of 2009/2010 is currently online as well as the whole of the previous financial year.

Details of previous years are provided online at http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/ though this is not a searchable database in the same way.

If you require any further information about anything I have claimed in recent years please contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss this with you or to provide further details where appropriate.

Summary of Pay and Allowances for MPs

The current annual salary for an MP is £64,766. In addition, MPs receive allowances to cover the costs of running an office and employing staff, accommodation in London and in their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency. Further information about MPs allowances and what we can claim in the pursuit of our Parliamentary duties is available from the Parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/finances.cfm

But if you need any further information about my expenses, my office or how I conduct my job please contact me via the website or my constituency office.

Norman Lamb

Member of Parliament for North Norfolk

Personal Statement by Norman Lamb MP to accompany the publication of claims under the Additional Cost Allowance

I have long argued that all claims for expenses and allowances made by Members of Parliament should be in the public domain. We had expected the detailed claims for the last four years to be published last autumn. However there was an attempt by some Members of Parliament to prevent this publication.

I made it clear that I opposed the blocking of publication - as did the rest of my Liberal Democrat colleagues. It was also scandalous that so much public money was spent on pursuing legal action to block publication.

I am horrified by the abuses which have been uncovered and believe it is essential that the system is thoroughly reformed. Individual MPs must be held to account for abuses of the system.

The Liberal Democrats have made it clear that we should accept the recommendations for reform of the Committee on Standards in Public Life once they have completed their review.

The way I have conducted my job

Integrity is of fundamental importance to me. I try to behave properly and ethically at all times. I put body and soul into this job. From the moment I was elected in 2001, I have done everything I can to represent my constituents effectively. This involves long hours of work, seven days a week and a sacrifice for my family, who do not see as much of me as they should. It also meant, in my first Parliament, that my wife, Mary, put in hundreds of hours as a volunteer - no pay and no travel claims - dealing with casework for constituents.

Expenses and Allowances which MPs can claim

Members of Parliament can claim for the cost of employing staff, running a constituency office, Parliamentary correspondence and postage, travel to and from London and in dealing with constituency work. They can also claim for the cost of having to have somewhere to live whilst in London. (Whilst Parliament is sitting, I usually travel down to London on Monday afternoon and return late in the evening on Thursdays. I work in Norfolk on Fridays, Saturdays, most Sundays and on Monday mornings.)

The bulk of what I claim is not money that comes to me - it is to pay my staff, run the office (including rent, rates and all other costs), and deal with constituency casework - postage, paper. I always travel to London by train and I travel standard class. (Up until about two years ago, I travelled first class because it guaranteed that I had a table to work from. However, as prices increased, I decided to reduce the cost and now travel standard class.)

My constituency is one of the most rural in the country and I have more constituents than most MPs - over 80,000 (about 16% higher than average) and so, if you are active, that means a staggering amount of work and a high constituency mileage compared to MPs representing urban constituencies.

My claims over the last four years have also been higher than they would otherwise be because I have had the unusual situation of having to deal with 3 periods of maternity leave by staff. I had no alternative but to employ replacement staff during these periods. This has had a significant impact on the total amount claimed.

The Additional Costs Allowance

The Allowance claimed directly by MPs, which we receive as payments directly to us and which has been subject to so much press coverage in the past fortnight is the Additional Cost Allowance - to cover the cost of having somewhere to live in London.

It is the paperwork relating to this allowance which I am publishing today.

Out of the seven Norfolk MPs who have been in Parliament for all of those 4 years, my claims under the ACA are the second lowest. (Figures can be checked by looking at the 'TheyWorkForYou.com' website. You can search for any MP and see their expenses.)

We purchased a flat following my election to Parliament in 2001. We were able to do this because I sold my share in the partnership at Steeles Solicitors. We used these funds to purchase our flat but we could not do so outright and so we took on a mortgage. Under the rules of the ACA you are able to claim the cost of staying in a hotel, paying the rent on accommodation or paying the interest on a mortgage.

We purchased our flat close to Westminster. This was very important for me because, whilst I am in London during the week, I get to work at about 9.00 am and work through to about midnight. The pressure of constituency work and my health portfolio is intense and I have to work these hours to keep on top of everything.

The Liberal Democrats have made it clear that we favour a move to the Scottish Parliament system whereby only rent can be recovered and not mortgage interest. That would mean us having to change my arrangements and I accept that this is probably the most straightforward arrangement for the future. I would urge other parties to sign up to this as well. It should, however, be noted that, as we have a tracker mortgage, my monthly claim for mortgage interest currently totals £251.84 compared to a typical monthly rent of over £1,000 in central London.

We have also put forward interim proposals that MPs should return to the taxpayer that proportion of profit made on second homes which has been subsidised by the taxpayer. As I have stated, we will abide by the outcome of the review conducted by the Committee on Standards in Public Life on this and all other issues.

Are MPs on the Gravy Train?

The revelations of the last two weeks make it clear that some MPs have behaved appallingly. Where there is evidence of possible criminal offences, the police must investigate and prosecute where possible.

However, not all MPs behave like this.

In terms of my own situation, I do no outside paid work (other than very occasional newspaper articles), I hold no directorships and I devote all my energy to my work as MP for North Norfolk and as Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman. As I have said, my wife, Mary has worked as a volunteer in my office. She now works for a charity in Norwich but still does an enormous amount as back up for me without pay.

My claims will reveal that I often do not claim reimbursement of expenses quickly. The truth is that filling out claim forms is the bottom of my priorities given the pressure of constituency casework and my Parliamentary work. I have also under-claimed on what I am entitled to. For example, I regularly travel by tube and taxi to speak at conferences or attend other events in London. I rarely claim for the cost of travel.

MPs can also face other liabilities. I personally lease my constituency office. We have recently moved to lower cost offices. However, I now face an unexpected potential bill of over £20,000 for repairs to my previous office. These are legitimate costs of renting an office which I can properly claim for but I face a dilemma as what on earth I should do to meet this cost.

Reform of the system is now very urgent. I strongly believe that we must ensure that those MPs without private wealth are still able to properly claim for the unavoidable additional costs of having to spend part of the week in London. We do not want to return to a situation where only the wealthy or those funded by trade unions can afford to do the job. But the system must be completely justifiable. There must also be absolute transparency and openness. That is the best way to avoid wrongdoing.

Within the current financial year, I will now publish every claim for personal and office expenses when it is submitted.

I am, of course, happy to answer any constituents' questions on this vital issue.

Norman Lamb MP

Member of Parliament for North Norfolk