MP claimed £10,000 in expenses in the past year
DALES MP Sarah Dines’ expenses claims have been made public – along with those of other MPS.
Ms Dines claimed a total of £10,839.38 in the 2020-21 financial year and spent the most of any Derbyshire MP on travel – £1,054.05 – £221.80 of which was spent on her staff.
Like the rest of the nation, MPS have in the past year had to adapt that the way they work amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
What has not changed is their need to declare their spending. The Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority figures for the 2020-21 financial year show that, across Derbyshire, MPS have claimed £128,370.93 since April 2020.
These ranged from just over £2,000 claimed by one MP – Labour’s Dame Margaret Beckett – to over £25,000 spent by another – Robert Largan (Tory MP for High Peak).
Over the same period, all of the UK’S MPS have claimed more than a combined £9 million, according to the IPSA.
Mr Largan said that he is fulfilling his election promise to be “completely transparent” on his expenses.
“They include things like rent for my constituency office and for things like postage and room hire for my help and advice surgeries. In the 13 months since being elected, my office and I have taken up 17,221 individual cases on behalf of local people. I am proud to go above and beyond to try and help people in the High Peak.
“I also rejected the proposed pay increase for MPS and pledged to give it to local charities. I wrote to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, urging them to cancel the proposed pay increase and I am pleased that they have now done so.”
Below we have ranked the top six Derbyshire MPS claiming the highest amounts.
1. Robert Largan (Conservative High Peak) £25,666.71.
2. Heather Wheeler (Conservative, South Derbyshire) £15,635.73.
3. Mark Fletcher (Conservative, Bolsover) £14,542.57.
4. Maggie Throup (Conservative, Erewash) £11,649.07
5. Pauline Latham (Conservative, Mid Derbyshire) £11,649.07.
6. Sarah Dines (Conservative, Derbyshire Dales) £10,839.38.