RULES ON CLAIMS FOR MORTGAGE INTEREST AND RENTALS BY HON. MEMBERS

Early day motion 1893, tabled 15 July 2009 by Frank Cook (Labour). Signed by 3 members.

That this House recalls the Speaker's Statement on Allowances delivered to the House on 19 May 2009 which stipulated that mortgage interest claims will be capped at £1,250 per month and the same cap will apply to rent and hotel accommodation; notes that minutes of the meeting of the Members Estimate Committee (MEC) held in the Speaker's House at 3.30 pm the following day confirm the imposition of the cap of £1,250 per month on claims for mortgage interest and hotel accommodation but only stipulate a cap on any new rental agreement made after 19 May 2009 on a new property, thereby exempting from the capping limit all rental agreements extant before that date; further notes that the MEC also stipulated that these provisions should apply to any expenditure incurred after 19 May 2009 and any claims received by the Department of Resources after 1 June 2009; questions on what basis such a distinction should have been established between monthly mortgage interest claims and monthly rental instalments prior to 19 May 2009, and how such a decision can be justified to the House; and calls on the Members Estimate Committee to provide clear and unequivocal explanation to the House at the earliest possible date.

Signatures by party: Conservative 1, Independent 1, Labour 1.