From the time I was selected to fight the Croydon South seat for the Conservative Party, and indeed before that, my home has been in Westminster. After the 1992 election I bought a second home, as the base for my constituency work, in Bletchingley. This address has been on every ballot paper in every General Election since then.

Interestingly, the previous MP for Croydon South lived in Bedfordshire and had his second home in central London. When I was selected to fight the seat in 1990 I felt that it was important to have a home close to the constituency (Bletchingley is about 12 minutes away) so that I could become closely involved in the affairs of Croydon South and be effective in representing my constituents. I have worked hard to fulfil this and spend Fridays and weekends attending meetings, holding advice surgeries, and working in the constituency.

I believe that I have been able to provide a fuller service to my constituents: in my parliamentary work, in serving on the Security and Intelligence Committee, and in addressing local issues and personal difficulties on their behalf, by being able to have a second home. For nine months in 2008 I was also acting in a caretaker capacity for my neighbouring colleague, the MP for Croydon Central, when he was ill and unable to undertake the constituency casework. This of course added considerably to my local workload.

Lots of people commute into central London from the south of the Borough I know. They too work late and have early meetings. However, it is the heavy workload at both ends, in Parliament and the constituency, which was the most important consideration in my decision to have a local base rather than commute from my Westminster home. Some colleagues in outer London constituencies have made the same decision, some have not. I cannot answer for them.

While the hours that the House of Commons sits have changed since I was first elected, when very late nights were common, it is still the case that the hours are long. The House regularly sits to 11.00pm (recently it sat until 1.30am) and I am often in meetings at 8.30am the following day. These meetings are scheduled at this time to enable Committee work and All Party Group meetings to be fitted into the day on top of the usual parliamentary and constituency workload and sittings of the House. As I have mentioned, I serve on the Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the work of the Secret Services. It is widely recognised as the most demanding of all Parliamentary Committees and is bound by the Official Secrets Act.

Fridays and weekends are devoted to constituency based appointments. These can range from inspecting a controversial planning site, visiting a school to celebrate pupils’ achievements or to hear about a problem from the head teacher, supporting charities on their open days, or attending formal civic functions. They are scheduled from morning to evening all over the constituency.

I hold regular advice surgeries offering personal appointments to constituents. Together with the letters, e-mails, faxes and telephone calls which come into my office, I estimate that I provide assistance to over 1500 constituents in any 12 month period. I take this part of my work extremely seriously and I am particularly pleased when I am able to achieve a successful outcome.

I have been able to maximise the amount of work I do locally by having a home nearby where I can work between appointments, make phone calls on constituency casework in private, change and freshen up and come back to for the night. This work cannot be properly done by travelling up and down between the constituency and my London home Friday – Sunday every week.

The high rate of marital breakdown among MPs is well known. I do not wish to join their ranks.

When I badly ruptured my Achilles Tendon the subsequent operation and convalescence resulting from secondary tendonitis led me to spend more time in Bletchingley than in Westminster for 9 months in 2008. Under the Parliamentary rules, governing the designations of what is a principal home and what is a second home, section 3.11.1 states that the property where you spend most of your time should be designated as your home - on which allowances are not claimable. In order to comply with this rule, I was obliged to register the Bletchingley address as my main home during this limited period, and my Westminster address as my second home.

As a matter of factual record, this resulted in my claims on the allowance being lower. I did not undertake any improvements to the Westminster property, I did not sell the Bletchingley property, and as soon as I was fit I resumed my former arrangements, in compliance with the above rule, which correctly reflected the time I spent at each address.

My Bletchingley address is not my principal home and is therefore subject to capital gains tax if there is a gain when I sell it.

I took out a mortgage when I bought the Bletchingley property. The interest on the mortgage was claimed. I was able to pay it off in 2008 and I have not claimed a penny in mortgage interest since.

The Parliamentary Authorities have published records of all claims for all MPs from 2004 - 2008 on the Parliamentary website: www.parliament.uk. 

A summary of the expenses I have claimed since 2004 has been available on the internet for years.   I have never sought to hide what I claim.   They can be viewed at http://www.parliament.uk/site_information/allowances.cfm.   Last year Conservative MPs took the initiative to publish this information in greater detail.  Again this information has been openly available to the public and the pdf file that includes my own claims can be found at http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/document-righttoknow3-2008.pdf.

The figures include allowances claimed towards a second home, as well as office, travel and staff costs.    MPs are not provided with staff or office equipment like computers, printers and stationery.   An allowance is provided to cover these costs.  Invoices and staff contracts must be supplied to the fees office before any claim is paid.  This allowance enables me to equip and staff my office to provide a proper service to my constituents.  

I would welcome a change to this system so that the House of Commons provides office equipment and enters into contracts with my staff rather than this remaining MPs’ responsibility.

I am now publishing my monthly expenses on an ongoing basis.You can view these documents here

I profoundly regret my part as an MP in allowing an indefensible system of allowances to develop which does not command public support and for this I apologise to my constituents. I share the view that MPs should act honestly and decently and expect to live by the same rules and standards as the people they wish to represent. Of course no MP is above the law or liability to pay tax to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. I would expect steps to be taken against anyone who has lied about their claims or committed a criminal offence.

In 1911 when the concept of an allowance for MPs was introduced, Lloyd George, then Chancellor, said it was not in recognition of the service rendered, or recompense or even a salary. It was just an allowance to enable men (he did not mention women) to be in Parliament who otherwise could not because their means did not allow it.

The modern expectations of an MP’s role, as I have explained under the question about having a second home, requires a great deal of work both in the constituency and in Parliament, during weekdays and weekends, during the day and late into the evening. There is no doubt that I am more effective and efficient because I operate out of my Bletchingley address when conducting constituency work, rather than commuting from my Westminster home.

The provision of an allowance for a second home enables those of us who are not independently wealthy to provide this high level of service. I believe most people would agree that they don’t want only rich people to become MPs.

But the system has gone horribly wrong. Whereas the allowances are there to enable basic bills and standard of living to be met, unreasonable claims have been made for luxurious items and decorative architectural makeovers, never mind phantom mortgages. This has rightly shocked and outraged the public.

I believe that I have claimed everything legitimately (see more comments on my claims under the next question on the menu) but I acknowledge that the current system is a shambles. What is needed is total transparency, clear rules and a process that everyone can have confidence in. The Committee on Standards in Public Life are currently reviewing the system and they are expected to report before the end of the year with their proposals.

However, I have taken immediate action rather than wait until the Committee’s recommendations are published. I have already taken the following steps:

• I am making no further claims on the discredited Additional Accommodation Allowance covering the costs of a second home, until the Committee on Standards on Public Life publishes its proposals
• I have referred all past claims for the last 4 years to the Conservative Party Scrutiny Committee for them to assess their reasonableness
• In the spirit of transparency, I am now  publishing all claims for staff, travel and office costs online as I submit them

Parliamentary allowances are provided to help people who are not rich to have a second home to enable them to provide a high quality service to their constituents. I have explained my decision to have a second home for constituency work under ‘Why do you claim for a second home when other Croydon MPs do not?’ I reiterate my great regret that we have permitted the allowance system to get out of control and become discredited. Rules existed and rules were abused. MPs should act honestly and decently and live by the same standards and law of the land as the people they represent.

Additional Accommodation Allowance
I have not claimed for any mock Tudor enhancements or duck islands or luxury fitted kitchens or phantom mortgages or designer makeovers.

The current edition (May 2009) of Factfile M5, ‘Members’ Pay, Pensions and Allowances’ published by the House of Commons Information Office and available to view at www.parliament.uk under F for factfiles, states on Page 9:

“The allowance can be used to meet costs such as rent or mortgage interest, hotel expenses, utilities and telecommunications charges, furnishings, maintenance, service agreements, cleaning and insurance, and subsistence.”

Working through the list of categories above:

Mortgage

I took out a mortgage when I bought the Bletchingley property as my second home. The interest on the mortgage was claimed. I was able to pay it off in 2008 and I have not claimed a penny in mortgage interest since.

Utilities, telecoms, cleaning and insurance

I claim for utilities and telecoms, for council tax, cleaning and insurance.

Furnishings

I have not claimed for carpets, curtains, sofas, chairs, kitchens, bathrooms, tables or TVs. I needed these items, but I bought them myself. Over the years I replaced some worn/broken items of houseware and 2 radios. The only other item under the furnishings heading that I claimed for was a bed. This is not a 4 poster; there are no canopies or swags. It is the simplest bed to look at – but its orthopaedic qualities save me from crippling back pain.

I have had a chronic back pain problem for the last 10 years. I have tried numerous different beds and finally, to my immense relief, I found one that actually relieved my back pain. I bought it with my own money for my main home. Every weekend I continued to be crippled by the bed at my second home. The solution was to replicate the bed that worked. As it was so expensive, I felt it wrong to claim all the cost on the allowance and referred a suggestion of 50% to the fees office for advice. I was told this was acceptable in view of my back condition. I claimed to repair a headboard I already had rather than buying a new one. This is the whole extent of my claims for furnishings in 17 years as MP for Croydon South. However, in the light of public disquiet over claims under the rules governing expenses and allowances, I have already taken the initiative to reimburse the cost of these items.

Maintenance

The claims I have made for maintenance include repairs to and servicing infrastructure such as plumbing & heating. I claimed for repairing a crumbling chimney lining, storm damage to exterior (potholes in drive caused by rain water flow and damage caused by a tree that was brought down), basic garden maintenance (keeping grass and hedges tidy and dealing with a dangerous tree and another tree which came down across a road). In respect of dealing with the storm damage and tree that fell across the road, I had hoped to claim on the insurance policy, but the first £500 of any claim is not covered and the cost of making good in each case was less than this amount. I claimed for coal for a fire and for cleaning a chimney which was in danger of catching fire because of tar deposits.

Subsistence

The rate laid down for subsistence, formerly itemised as ‘food’, is £25 per day including a night away from the main home on Parliamentary business. This covers the additional expense of not eating at home when attending meetings and working in the constituency three or more days a week. It is based on a standard allowance equivalent to that provided for all Civil Servants and most Trade Union members staying away from their main home in the course of their work.

Communication Allowance

In the wake of a dramatic fall in turnout at the 2001 General Election, the Labour Government made an allowance available to every MP to communicate with their constituents about their work locally and in Parliament.

I use this allowance to publish a non-political news sheet, at regular intervals, under the title Westminster Report. It details my recent work in the House of Commons and in the constituency, reports the status of topical developments, and the results of local opinion surveys from the previous edition.

This news sheet is circulated to constituents in various ways by local distributors such as the Croydon Advertiser, and more recently the Royal Mail. These distributors were paid for this service out of the Communication Allowance.

Office Costs and Travel Allowances

Many people are not aware that MPs are not provided with office equipment. They must buy their own and can claim back the cost through the Administrative and Office Expenditure Allowance. I have made claims to equip my office and staff with computers, printers, stationery and the like. These are itemised. The myriad incidentals that are needed from day to day in a busy office are funded out of a petty cash float which is separately accounted for.

I claim for the cost of my travel and that of my staff in connection with my duties as an MP at the rate fixed by the Authorities of 40p per mile, dropping to 25p after 10,000 miles, or reimbursement of public transport fares or taxis.

The Conservative Party took an early initiative to set up a Scrutiny Committee to assess the validity and reasonableness of all claims made by Conservative MPs over the last 4 years. The Committee includes independent scrutineers from outside Parliament.

The Committee was not just looking at what was claimed fairly under the rules, but whether any claims were disproportionate in the light of public concern over MPs’ allowances.   The Committee reported at the end of June.   It recommended that some MPs make additional repayments of some claims.  My name was not on that list.

In assisting me with my work, my staff undertake research on complex subjects, draft the results for parliamentary questions or in response to problems raised by constituents and follow up issues with Ministers. In addition to specific issues raised by individual constituents, or constituency organisations, the work covers replies to single issue campaigns ranging from the right for Gurkhas to come to the UK, through the need for change in the wake of the Baby P child abuse case to representations on the Human Fertility and Embryology Bill. They manage my appointments in Parliament and the Constituency. I provide more information on each staff member’s role below.

I employ an office manager who co-ordinates my constituency casework, attends advice surgeries, prepares briefing notes for meetings, articles for my Westminster Report news sheet and press releases. The work covers requests for my assistance from individuals as well as requests for my intervention or support from businesses, organisations, schools, health services and charities based in my constituency.

I employ a secretary to help with letters and documents, phone calls and messages, arranging meetings and the administration of the office in Parliament.

I employ my wife on a part time basis, working closely with my full time office staff and Parliamentary resource centres, in dealing with the huge amount of research and correspondence that I conduct as an MP. She deals specifically with single issue campaigns which my other staff do not have time to cover.

She is well qualified for the work and her contract, drawn up by the House of Commons Department of Finance and Administration, is a standard Parliamentary one. A scrupulous record of her work and time sheets are kept. No expenses are claimed for her office space or overheads. Her employment is a matter of public record and has always been declared in the Register of Members’ Interests.

I acknowledge that recent abuse of employment of family members has given rise to valid concerns about this practice. If the Committee on Standards in Public Life, currently reviewing the system and expected to report before the end of the year, say that family members should not be employed, I will of course comply. I will advertise for someone to fill this job which will of course mean providing office space, paying for overheads and paying overtime if extra hours are required during periods of high workload. A net increase in staff and office costs may well be a price worth paying for public confidence.

From my office costs allowance I make a contribution of £4,500 annually to the Croydon South Conservative office in Purley for the services the office and staff provide for me. These services include the use of an office and waiting room with staff supervision on surgery evenings, and use of this space to meet constituents and delegations between surgery dates. The office staff there also take messages for me from constituents calling in and redirect any mail addressed to me as well as providing photocopying services related to advice surgeries and other communications for me received at the office. A formal written agreement in respect of these arrangements is deposited with the Parliamentary Authorities.

Before I entered politics I was in the Royal Navy and then became a lawyer, specialising in the energy and shipping sector. I provide some consultancy services to an energy company because I have some expertise in this area. I also believe that it helps to inform my work as an MP if I am in touch with the real world when it comes to legislating on matters affecting businesses, employers and the workforce. The company I am working with has built a facility which will help security of energy supply by providing 20% of the UK’s total gas requirement. This facility was opened with considerable public fanfare in May this year. You may have read about it; it was widely reported in the newspapers. I have averaged less than an hour per week on this.

My work for this company has always been noted in the Register of Members’ Interests. In this register a theoretical maximum income must be published at the beginning of the year to which it relates. I earned nowhere near the figure that was originally entered. It was misleading and an error and a more accurate figure has been published.

I have no other private remunerated outside activities and no directorships.

It is a flat in London rented out at arm’s length by professional agents. I have never lived there. It was acquired as part of an overall review of family savings and investments in order to diversify out of stocks and shares. It is purely an investment vehicle and was acquired while I was already living in Westminster. For some reason not known to me, the Register requires Members’ investment property to be entered but not their shareholdings.