Showing posts with label expenses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label expenses. Show all posts
Friday, August 11, 2017
Are the European Commission’s Expenses Reasonable? - BBC Newsnight
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: No more cigars, flights or luxury hotels for politicians, says French president, after spate of expenses scandals
Spare a thought – and perhaps a euro – for the poor French politician.
No more taxpayer-funded Cuban cigars, private jets, or even luxury hotels. And, if Nicolas Sarkozy has his way, no more overstaffed offices and unfettered use of the ministry photocopier.
Having cancelled the Elysée palace summer garden party, the French president has decided everyone else must "make an effort" to tighten their professional belts. Anxious to be seen wielding the austerity axe following a spate of scandals over official perks, not to mention a ballooning public deficit, he is demanding ministers' spending be "vigorously reduced".
Ministers have been told that their official visits will be "strictly curtailed" and they will be encouraged to take the train, not the plane, with a reduced retinue of advisers. Away from home they must only stay in a hotel if there are no bedrooms available in state-owned buildings, such as embassies and consulates.
The order came in a letter to the prime minister, François Fillon, in which Sarkozy warned that those defying his austerity measures would face "punishment". >>> Kim Willsher in Paris | Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, March 30, 2009
This is the woman who denied entry to the United Kingdom to our friend Geert Wilders! Since that ridiculous, undemocratic decision, she’s got herself into a fine kettle of fish! Porn films paid for by the taxpayer, all manner of sleaze, and denying parliamentarians the right to speak freely – how can she sleep at night? – ©Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Home Secretary Jacqui Smith claimed £22,948 in 2007/08 in taxpayer-funded allowances for her second home, official figures have shown.
Miss Smith, whose claims are already under investigation by a sleaze watchdog, was battling fresh embarrassment today after it emerged that public money paid for two adult films watched by her husband.
Figures released by the House of Commons showed she was paid the sum in additional costs allowance (ACA), which is designed to cover the cost of working in both London and a constituency.
Miss Smith is being investigated because of complaints about her decision to designate her sister's house in south London, where she stays, as her "main" home, allowing her to claim back the costs of running her family house in her Redditch constituency.
Her overall expenses claim, including travel, office and staffing costs, was £157,631.
That sum included 25 journeys for her husband, Richard Timney, who is employed as her Parliamentary assistant, at a cost to the public purse of £2,531.
The figures released by the House of Commons authorities showed that Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed £124,454 in expenses and allowances in 2007/08, while Conservative leader David Cameron claimed £148,829.
The details are published annually and were initially due for release last October but were delayed amid a legal row over whether full receipts and invoices should be disclosed.
MPs are permitted to claim a range of expenses, including a maximum of £23,083 for the additional costs allowance (ACA), which covers the cost of staying away from their main residence to carry out their parliamentary duties.
ACA is used to cover the cost of running and furnishing a property, as well as rent or mortgage interest payments. Most MPs use it to pay for a base in central London to use while they are working in Westminster, though some – like Miss Smith – treat their London address as their main home and claim allowances on their constituency property. >>> | Monday, March 30, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)