Mrs Anne Main
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House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges Mrs Anne Main Eighth Report of Session 2009–10 Report and Appendices, together with formal minutes Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 2 February 2010 HC 353 Published on 4 February 2010 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Committee on Standards and Privileges The Committee on Standards and Privileges is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; to examine the arrangements proposed by the Commissioner for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members’ Interests and any other registers of interest established by the House; to review from time to time the form and content of those registers; to consider any specific complaints made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests referred to it by the Commissioner; to consider any matter relating to the conduct of Members, including specific complaints in relation to alleged breaches in the Code of Conduct which have been drawn to the Committee’s attention by the Commissioner; and to recommend any modifications to the Code of Conduct as may from time to time appear to be necessary. Current membership Rt hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP (Conservative, Kensington & Chelsea) (Chairman) Rt hon Kevin Barron MP (Labour, Rother Valley) Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) Nick Harvey MP (Liberal Democrat, North Devon) Rt hon Greg Knight MP (Conservative, East Yorkshire) Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP (Plaid Cymru, Meirionnydd Nant Conwy) Mr Chris Mullin MP (Labour, Sunderland South) The hon Nicholas Soames MP (Conservative, Mid Sussex) Mr Paddy Tipping MP (Labour, Sherwood) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) Powers The constitution and powers of the Committee are set out in Standing Order No. 149. In particular, the Committee has power to order the attendance of any Member of Parliament before the committee and to require that specific documents or records in the possession of a Member relating to its inquiries, or to the inquiries of the Commissioner, be laid before the Committee. The Committee has power to refuse to allow its public proceedings to be broadcast. The Law Officers, if they are Members of Parliament, may attend and take part in the Committee’s proceedings, but may not vote. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at: www.parliament.uk/sandp. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Mr Steve Priestley (Clerk), Miss Rhiannon Hollis (Second Clerk) and Ms Jane Cooper (Committee Assistant). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to The Clerk of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, Journal Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6615. Mrs Anne Main 1 Contents Report Page Mrs Anne Main 3 Introduction 3 The Commissioner’s findings 3 Was Mrs Main eligible to claim for a second home in her constituency? 3 Was the St Albans flat necessary in order to fulfil Mrs Main’s Parliamentary duties? 4 Were Mrs Main’s accommodation costs wholly and exclusively incurred on her Parliamentary duties? 4 Were Mrs Main’s food claims in accordance with the rules of the House? 6 Mrs Main’s evidence 7 Conclusions 7 Mrs Main’s daughter’s use of her second home 7 Mrs Main’s food claims 9 Recommendation 9 Appendix 1: Memorandum from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards 11 Complaint against Mrs Anne Main MP 13 Written evidence received by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards 60 Appendix 2: Letter from Anne Main MP to the Clerk of the Committee, 1 February 2010 115 Formal minutes 117 Mrs Anne Main 3 Mrs Anne Main Introduction 1. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has completed his investigation of a complaint against Mrs Anne Main, the Member for St Albans. Mrs Main was first elected in May 2005. Shortly after taking her seat, Mrs Main began renting a two–bedroom flat in the centre of the city of St Albans and claiming against Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) for the costs of the flat, which she later bought. Mrs Main’s family home, which is also her designated main home, is in Beaconsfield.1 2. The complainant in this case was Mr J P Harper of St Albans. The complaint was about four alleged aspects of Mrs Main’s claims against ACA between 2005 and 2009 for costs associated with her use of the property in St Albans: • Mrs Main’s main home was only 20 miles from her constituency boundary, so she should not have claimed for a second home in St Albans.2 • Mrs Main’s adult daughter breached the rules by living rent-free in the second home.3 • Mrs Main claimed a second home discount on the Council Tax she paid in respect of the St Albans property, although it was her daughter’s main home.4 • Mrs Main’s claims for food were excessive.5 As the Commissioner notes, the essence of Mr Harper’s complaint was that Mrs Main’s claims against Additional Costs Allowance were not wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of performing her Parliamentary duties.6 3. The Commissioner’s memorandum is reproduced in full at Appendix 1. We have also received written evidence from Mrs Main, which is reproduced in full at Appendix 2. The Commissioner’s findings 4. The Commissioner has identified four questions to which, in his judgment, answers are necessary in order to conclude whether the various parts of this complaint should be upheld. Was Mrs Main eligible to claim for a second home in her constituency? 5. The Commissioner notes that the rules appear to define a constituency home as being one within 20 miles of the constituency boundary and that Mrs Main’s family home in 1 Appendix 1, paragraph 142 2 Appendix 1, paragraph 2 3 Appendix 1, paragraph 3 4 Appendix 1, paragraph 4 5 Appendix 1, paragraph 5 6 Appendix 1, paragraph 18 4 Mrs Anne Main Beaconsfield meets that criterion.7 He points out, however, that it has already been established that the rules permit a Member to have a second home in the constituency, even if their designated main home is within 20 miles of the constituency boundary.8 He has therefore concluded that it was consistent with the interpretation of the rules at the time for Mrs Main to designate the Beaconsfield house as her main home and the St Albans property as her second home for ACA purposes.9 Was the St Albans flat necessary in order to fulfil Mrs Main’s Parliamentary duties? 6. The Commissioner notes that, on Mrs Main’s own evidence, she spent “on average between one and two nights a week in her constituency flat.”10 He accepts that Mrs Main made more frequent use of the flat in the daytime and evenings as a convenient base for her constituency duties, although she often returned to her home in Beaconsfield late in the day, once traffic levels had reduced. 7. The Commissioner accepts Mrs Main’s “firm view” that the flat in St Albans was necessary to enable her to perform her role as a constituency MP.11 He considers that Mrs Main’s exercise of discretion in establishing her St Albans property in support of her constituency work was reasonable in all the circumstances and that it was within the rules for Mrs Main to designate the flat as her second home and to claim against ACA for it.12 Were Mrs Main’s accommodation costs wholly and exclusively incurred on her Parliamentary duties? 8. This question is at the heart of the Commissioner’s inquiry. The answer to it turns on the use made by Mrs Main’s constituency property by her adult daughter and the interpretation of the rules on claiming ACA. The Commissioner notes that I have stated in my report on an earlier complaint, that in my judgement costs are not wholly and exclusively incurred for the purpose of performing a Member’s parliamentary duties if the Member’s claim includes the living costs of someone other than themselves, or if they or someone close to them receive a personal benefit from the arrangement. This latter prohibition was included for the first time in the July 2006 rules, but is in my judgement implicit in the overarching rule that Members may claim only for costs wholly and exclusively incurred on parliamentary duties.13 This Committee has previously agreed with the Commissioner that the living costs of another person include the full costs of living in such a property, including fixed costs such 14 as council tax and mortgage interest. 7 Appendix 1, paragraph 153 8 Appendix 1, paragraph 152 9 Appendix 1, paragraph 154 10 Appendix 1, paragraph 156 11 Appendix 1, paragraph 157 12 Appendix 1, paragraphs 157 and 158 13 Appendix 1, paragraph 159 14 See Tenth Report, Session 2008–09, and Fourth Report, Session 2209–10 Mrs Anne Main 5 9. The evidence of Mrs Main and her daughter suggests that from September 2006 to May 2009, Mrs Main’s daughter stayed in the St Albans flat on average more nights than Mrs Main did. Over the period as a whole, according to the evidence, the number of nights Mrs Main’s daughter stayed at the flat varied from one to four, but as the Commissioner states “this represented a substantial, regular and sustained usage of the flat.”15 The evidence is that Mrs Main’s daughter contributed in kind to the upkeep of the flat by keeping it clean and tidy and that she paid for her own food.