§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give the reasons why he will not, as a means of reducing Government expenditure, move to amend the resolution governing allowances for peers so as to introduce a means test to ensure that peers will receive their £13.50 a day tax-free allowance only where they can establish that their other income falls below the national average wage.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisPeers' expenses allowance is not paid as a fixed sum, nor is it reckonable as income. It is a limit within which the Members of another place are entitled to recover expenses they actually incur in attending their House, and it would be inappropriate to apply a means test to a reimbursement allowance.