Minister for Africa tried to claim back £50 hospice donation through expenses
A CONSERVATIVE MP who was last week promoted to minister for Africa attempted to claim a £50 donation to a British hospice as an expense, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Harriett Baldwin, whose new brief includes organising humanitarian responses, charity and the use of UK aid in Africa, purchased a ticket for the Worcestershire Women of the Year 2013 Awards Ceremony, hosted by St Richard’s Hospice in her constituency of West Worcestershire.
The proceeds of the £50 tickets went to the charity.
The claim, which was rejected by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), includes a copy of a thank-you note given to the MP by a fundraiser at the hospice thanking her for her “generosity”.
The £50 claim, which emerged after a freedom of information request, raises questions over the decision to appoint Ms Baldwin to her new position at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.
Ms Baldwin submitted the claim to Ipsa as “hospitality,” but it was rejected as it was not an “unavoidable cost” – as stipulated by the rules at the time. Hos- pitality was permitted under the scheme when the claim was made.
Ms Baldwin, 57, has successfully claimed £1.1million from 3,075 claims since she became an MP in 2010, including 60 payments of £2 or less, one of which was a 45p reimbursement for a one-mile car journey. It includes about £130,000 a year on staffing.
She said: “I attended an event as the local MP for which there was a ticket charge. The claim was rejected by the independent body responsible for verifying expense claims. I have every confidence in Ipsa and the job it does delivering transparency to the way MPS carry out their duties.
“I make many donations to local charities but of course they are made from my own resources.”