As promised last week, David Lammy MP is publishing his expenses online today. David Lammy commented on publishing them online: “Understandably, many people in Tottenham and beyond have been emailing, writing and calling me and my office about my expenses. Since the start of this process I have been committed to publishing them on my website as soon as possible. “Last week I opened up my expenses to the scrutiny of local journalists and community representatives: Julie Davies from Haringey NUT, Tony Hartney CBE head of Gladesmore Community School, Lynne Hale Executive Director of Haringey Shed and Keith Flett President of Haringey TUC, and they were satisfied with what they found.” Some of their comments can be found below: Keith Flett commenting on David Lammy MP’s expenses said: "David's expenses were not quite as 'interesting' as some of those from other MPs exposed in the media, which is exactly what I would have expected from him. In the interest of transparency it is right this information should be in the public domain. “I am happy to say that no one would have expected an MP like David, with his record and background to be anything other than straight down the line on expenses, and that this is what democracy in a constituency like Tottenham demands." Julie Davies added: “David's expenses claims were entirely related to running his office. He clearly deals with a huge amount of casework on behalf of Tottenham residents and he claims the cost of stationery, phone calls, and computers and so on. I went through the receipts very carefully and there was nothing that any Tottenham voter would have found to be unreasonable or extravagant for their MP to have claimed. He lives in, and represents, a constituency with many challenges and these expenses reflect that work.” David continued: “Today, I wanted to use this opportunity to explain my expenses, and reassure my constituents about how I spend their tax payers’ money serving the people of Tottenham. “Last year, my office handled 2227 new individual constituents’ cases and answered over 600 new policy questions received through the post, email, on the phone, or through the door at one of my regular advice surgeries. “At each surgery we generally see over 60 people who want my help in some way, including for example difficult child protection, housing, immigration, or crime and anti-social behaviour cases. “Overall my total expenditure was £133,224 (for 07/08) the last year for which my accounts have been fully verified. This currently places me at 497th highest out of the 645 Members of Parliament in terms of expenditure. “The majority of this money, £93,013 was spent on my staff who help me serve one of the busiest and demanding constituencies in Britain. My other office costs are largely spent on stationary, phone calls, and computer equipment purchased to handle this level of casework, to support my staff, to host community events, and to communicate with people in Tottenham about local and national issues. “Over the past year this has included campaigning on issues such as opposing the expansion of gambling premises on Green Lanes; tackling planning enforcement; saving the Post Office in Tottenham Green; conducting street surgeries; tackling burglaries and anti-social behaviour in Bruce Grove; and challenging Tesco over deliveries on Broadwater Farm to name but a few of my campaigns. I also produce an annual report for local residents. “I do not claim for food, a second home, furniture or many of the other items seen in the media and most of my travel around Tottenham is by public transport or on foot. I regularly take work experience students from Haringey, and longer term interns who support my office. I believe offering young people the opportunity to work in Parliament is a vital part of my role as MP. I fund their expenses such as lunch and reasonable travel out of my office budget. “I have written elsewhere about how angry and appalled I am about the series of revelations published in the media about some of my Parliamentary colleagues. “While most MPs have not abused the system, it is clear others have gone far beyond what most people would consider as acceptable. I share the anger of the British people and I am committed to seeing the system of expenses reformed and to seeing amore transparent, open and accountable House of Commons under a new Speaker.” Guide to my expenses For the headline expense figures broken down by area of expenditure please visit: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_lammy/tottenham
A full explanation of the existing expenses system can be found in Parliament’s Green Book: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/GreenBook.pdf David Lammy has also written an article about the wider issue of expenses for the pressure group Compass please click here to read it. The areas blacked out and pages deleted in the documents below do not hide purchases or expenditure, but are hidden to protect personal information like bank account numbers, addresses and telephone numbers. Please click on the links below to view PDF for each financial year: Expenses year 07/08 Expenses year 06/07 Expenses year 05/06 Expenses year 04/05
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