In message , at 19:47:46 on
Mon, 13 Jul 2009, Recliner remarked:
Looking down the list and picking the first person as my random
example: Ms Diane Abbott claimed around £131k, *none* of which was
for a second home. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8044207.stm

If they ran their offices as self-employed businesses, they would, but I
don't doubt that they exempted themselves (not to save money, but just
to simplify their paperwork). In fact, I don't know if the money for
things like staff costs isn't paid directly to the staff, rather than
via the MP's books.

One of the proposed changes is that the staff will be paid direct from
Westminster. (Which sounds to me like something that will require a
whole new layer of admin, so they can be assured what hours those people
have actually worked).
--
Roland Perry