PARLIAMENTARY EXPENSES (Hansard, 30 July 1974)

§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Edward Short)

I beg to move, That, in the opinion of this House, it is expedient that further provision with respect to allowances, facilities and other payments for Members of this House should be made as follows:—

(1) the rate of the allowance which under the Resolution of this House of 20th December 1971 is now payable to certain Members of this House as a supplementary London allowance should be increased, in respect of periods after 1st August 1974, to £228 a year;
(2) the limit of £750 on the allowance which, under the Resolution of 20th December 1971, is now payable in respect of additional expenses necessarily incurred by certain Members of this House staying overnight away from their only or main residences for the purposes of performing their parliamentary duties should be replaced by a limit of—

(a) £950 for the period of twelve months from 1st April 1974 to 31st March 1975, and
(b) £1,050 for any subsequent period of twelve months beginning on 1st April;

(3) the limit of £1,000 on the allowance which, in accordance with the Resolution of 20th December 1971, is now payable to Members of this House in respect of expenses incurred for their parliamentary duties on secretarial assistance should be replaced by a limit of—

(a) £1,500 for the period of twelve months from 1st April 1974 to 31st March 1975 and;
(b) £1,750 for any subsequent period of twelve months beginning on 1st April;

(4) the expenses in respect of which, in accordance with the Resolution of 20th December 1971, the allowance mentioned in paragraph (3) of this Resolution is payable to any Member of this House within that limit should (for any such period as is mentioned in that paragraph) include—

(a) general office expenses, and
(b) within a maximum of £465 for the first period of twelve months mentioned in 741 that paragraph, and of £550 for any later period of twelve months, the expenses of employing a research assistant on work undertaken in the proper performance of the Member's parliamentary duties;

(5) the limit on the allowances which, under the Resolutions of 3rd November 1970 and 20th December 1971 are now payable to Members of this House for travel by road on certain journeys should, for journeys commenced after 1st August 1974, be replaced by a limit in respect of the use of a car of 7.7 pence a mile;
(6) provision should be made for any Member of this House who is a Member for a constituency—

(a) falling wholly or partly within Greater London; and
(b) not being a constituency mentioned in the Schedule to the Resolution of 20th December 1971, as amended by the Resolution of this House of 13th March 1974,

to receive the allowance mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Resolution in place of any allowance of the kind mentioned in paragraph (2), if he so chooses. My business will be non-controversial. This motion gives effect to the announcement which I made in the House on Monday on Members' allowances.