I have today published on my website www.peterainsworth.com details of my Parliamentary expenses for the last four years (1). I have decided to take this action because these expenses involve the use of taxpayers' money and it is only right that they should be in the public domain. The details I am publishing have been "redacted", in accordance with advice from the House of Commons Fees Office (2), in order to safeguard information about bank details, for example, and correspondence with third parties. I have also decided that anyone wishing to see the full, unredacted version of these papers is welcome to make an appointment to visit my office in order to do so, (subject to compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998)  although all the substantive information is contained in the redacted version.

I regret that the House of Commons itself seems unable to publish this information in a timely manner. It has become clear that the reason for the delay is that the information which they have on their files is confused, and in some cases simply wrong. For example, I was surprised to find that the file in my name contained several pages of information relating to a Labour MP (with the same surname); I have removed that section from my file.

The information I am making public therefore comes with a warning that, because of poor record keeping and data processing by the Parliamentary Fees Office, it may be subject to further revision before the "official" version is published by Parliament whenever they manage to get round to the job. However frustrating this may be, I have decided that the impact on public confidence of recent revelations about the abuse of the system is so serious that it is right to make public the information now, even if it is not entirely reliable for reasons beyond my control.

I am also putting on my website, for those who are interested, previously published information about my salary and expenses for each of the last four years. This provides a snapshot of the overall cost to the taxpayer of my work as MP for East Surrey. It should be noted that the figures include the salaries paid directly to my staff.

For those who are interested in how these costs compare with those of other MP's, the figures reveal that my total costs ranked as follows:

Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £2,657 (326th). Rail £930 (444th). ** Car £1,478 (490th). Rail £2,012 (335th).

Other: Rail £2,171 (5th).

There is no doubt that the events of the past few weeks have been deeply damaging to the reputation of Parliament and its Members. We owe the public a collective apology for behaviour which has brought the way we are governed into contempt. It is essential for the health of our democracy that every possible action is taken to restore public trust in politics and politicians. I hope that the publication of this information will help to do that.

Details of Mr Ainsworth's Additional Cost Allowance for:

2004-05 can be found HERE
2005-06 can be found HERE
2006-07 can be found HERE
2007-08 can be found HERE
 

Notes:

1) I will do this in stages, for practical reasons. Because I have opted to publish the data myself, rather than wait for the parliamentary authorities to do what is necessary, a great deal of extra work is involved for my office staff, and the process will take some time. Initially I am publishing the record of claims under the Additional Costs Allowance, which is the budget that relates to second homes, and is the one which has given rise to most of the recent controversy. As soon as possible I will publish the remainder of the information.

2) This is also consistent with the Data Protection Act 1998. Most people will be unfamiliar with the sight of a redacted text. The deletions look much more dramatic than they are in reality. As mentioned above, anyone wanting to see the original text is welcome to do so by arrangement.

3)Contrary to a report in the Surrey Mirror (14th May) I do not claim, and never have claimed, expenses for my family home in Lingfield. The claims I have made under the Additional Cost Allowance relate to our home in London.