West Midlands MPs cost taxpayers £2.9m in a year

MPs' expenses and office costs came to more than £2.9 million in a year for 19 of them in the West Midlands, official figures have shown.

Their total claims for staff, travel, office rent, their second homes and other costs came to between £77,000 and £184,000 each according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority set up in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Walsall North's David Winnick emerged as the cheapest MP in the Black Country, claiming £77,034.84 for all his costs in 2013/14.

Wyre Forest's Mark Garnier cost £184,062.60 while Cannock Chase's Aidan Burley, who is standing down at the next election, claimed £183,893.19.

Both Tory MPs employed their wives as office managers - Caroline Garnier on £35,000 to £39,999.99 and Jodie Burley, nee Jones, on £25,000 to £29,999.99.

MPs are allowed to employ one family member but have to declare it.

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Others in the West Midlands employing spouses last year include West Bromwich West's Labour MP Adrian Bailey, Stone Conservative Sir Bill Cash and Walsall South's Labour MP Valerie Vaz.

South Staffordshire's Conservative MP Gavin Williamson also employed his wife Joanne from April to August in 2013 with figures showing she received between £1,000 and £4,999.99 as a junior secretary.

Conservative Sir Richard Shepherd, who represents Aldridge-Brownhills, employed his sister Davida Catleugh on £35,000 to £39,999.99

Mr Winnick, who has been MP for Walsall North since 1979, said: "Though I am pleased to have minimised the amount of money I have had to claim from public funds I hesitate to criticise others who have claimed more. It may be that they have had other expenses or staffing costs.

"It may be that in future years I will need more staff."

Mr Winnick employs a full time secretary in Westminster and a part time assistant in his constituency.

"I make no criticism whatsoever of those who employ family members. If IPSA was not satisfied it would tell the member so. Although I do wonder what MPs and their spouses talk about if they work together. It's like a bus driver being married to a conductor."

Mr Burley hit out at Cannock Chase's Labour run council for his high costs.

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He said: "The reason my constituency office is expensive to run is because the Labour-run District Council insist on charging over £6,000 Business rates per year, when we are not a business and do not make any profit. They grant rates relief to nearly every other Citizen's Advice type service, which is what the MP Help Zone is, but when we applied they refused us because my Labour predecessor Tony Wright never ran such a service. I make no apology for helping tens of thousands of constituents over the past four years, who never need an appointment, and can come and get help from my dedicated team five days a week. Ironically, most of their complaints are about poor service from the district council."

And Mr Garnier said: "My office is a community asset. It's there to serve the constituency. My home is in the constituency, meaning I rent accommodation in London which incurs a heavier cost. I use my staffing allowance to help my constituents in Wyre Forest. All but one of my staff are based locally and they assist the community in the way a Citizens Advice Bureau does."

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said its reforms since the expenses scandal had saved the taxpayer £58m in four years.

Chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "Constituents can see exactly what their MP spent in carrying out their parliamentary duties. Such is the progress made since the scandals which came to light in 2009 that our work is now attracting the attention of parliaments around the world."

Altogether, the 650 MPs across the UK claimed £103m in 2013/14, compared with £98m the previous year.

An MP's basic salary is now £67,060. It increased in May from £66,396.

IPSA wants to pay them all a basic rate of £74,000 after next year's election but party leaders are opposed to the move.