What was Allowed?

MPs were permitted a budget to pay for office costs accrued in undertaking their parliamentary duties, such as printer ink and headed notepaper etc.

What I Claimed:

Between May 2010 and April 2018 I saved the taxpayer £139,000 through underspending on my Office budget.

MPs would buy an item for their office, for example printer ink, they then claimed for that sum, provided a receipt and made a claim. The sum was then compensated back to the MP.

Whilst I was your MP, I claimed what I needed to run an efficient office. However, I never ‘maxed out’ my office budget or renewed things unnecessarily where there was nothing wrong with the old one - just because there is money in the budget. My laptop computer is almost nine years old for example.

I saved the taxpayer large sums of money by underspending on this budget. Here is the maths:

Financial Year 2010-11

·         Max Office Budget: £19, 302.95

·         Michael claimed: £3,377.76

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £15,924.29

2011-12

·         Max Office Budget: £21,500

·         Michael claimed: £5,416.60

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £16,083.40

2012-13

·         Max Office Budget: £22,200

·         Michael claimed: £4,663.60

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £17,536.40

2013-14

·         Max Office Budget: £22,750

·         Michael claimed: £5,210.57

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £17,539.43

2014-15

·         Max Office Budget: £23,250

·         Michael claimed: £6,500.22

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £16,749.78

2015-16

·         Max Office Budget: £23,400

·         Michael claimed: £5,343.40

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £18,056.60

2016-17

·         Max Office Budget: £23,450

·         Michael claimed: £6,854.12

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £16,595.88

2017-18

·         Max Office Budget: £24,150

·         Michael claimed: £3,263.59

·         Total amount saved for taxpayer: £20,886.41