. . . BUT PEERS ‘ASK TO BE PAID TO VOTE FROM HOME’
PEERS do not want virtual proceedings in the House of Lords to end after the pandemic, allowing them to claim a daily allowance while ‘attending’ from home.
Multiple senior sources said a group of peers have asked for the virtual voting and speaking in the Chamber to be made a permanent option, so they could participate from home and do not have to ‘stand around’ for votes.
The House of Commons last week published its roadmap out of lockdown, although it has yet to set out when proceedings in the Chamber will return to normal.
MPs have been calling for more in-person proceedings to resume as soon as possible. During the pandemic peers have been allowed to claim a daily allowance of £162 on days they vote or speak virtually. This is reduced from the usual £323 payment for attending in person.
A peer said: ‘Because of their age, some peers do not want to stand around late, waiting to be called for votes.’
A source close to the discussions said ‘there will be two types of people’ in the Lords after the pandemic – ‘those who want to come in to claim as much money as they can, and those who want to stay home’. The Lords said any permanent changes to proceedings after Covid would have to be agreed by the Procedure Committee.
It comes as three sitting Tory peers have been claiming taxpayer money on the furlough scheme, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Lord Borwick and ex-Ministers Lord Astor and Lord Inglewood have all benefited from the scheme, official records show.
Last year, Lib Dem frontbencher Lord Fox apologised and pledged to repay the taxpayer money he had received, after it was revealed he had furloughed himself while claiming his attendance allowance.