Inconsistencies in councillors' expense claims

Confirmation of Freedom Of Information Request

Thank you for your request for information.

Your request details have now been recorded and will be passed on to the
appropriate Divisional Records Officer for action.

This Freedom Of Information Request was based on the following
information:

Name: Mr Jones
Address: see email address
Email: [FOI #13271 email]
Telephone:
Request Details: In his recent letter titled "Our duty is to ensure every
penny counts" and published in the West End Extra a couple of weeks ago
from today's date, Cllr Colin Barrow makes the following statement:-
"Some members including myself have chosen to forego claiming expenses
altogether".

Question 1:-
Can Cllr Colin Barrow please explain his above statement in the light of
the City Council's reply to FOI request number 3796 and titled
"Councillor's expenses broken down by financial year for the last 6 years"
where he appears to have claimed in the financial year 2008/9 £10,250
basic expenses and £37,639.55 special expenses.

Question 2:-
In the same letter, Cllr Colin Barrow states the following:- "A total of
just over £870 was claimed last year, an average of just over £14 per
councillor". The City Council's response to FOI number 3796 and titled
"Councillor's expenses broken down by financial year for the last 6 years"
shows the following data for the financial year 2008/9:-
Cllr Barrow: Basic expenses claimed £10,250 and special expenses claimed
£37,639.55
Cllr Caplan: Basic expenses claimed £10,250 and special expenses claimed
£12,626.99
Cllr Chalkley: Basic expenses claimed £10,250 and special expenses claimed
£10,250.

Can Cllr Barrow please explain how he arrived at a total of just over £870
that was claimed last year, considering that the total expenses claimed by
the three above councillors totalled £91,266.54 and that this total does
not even cover all 60 Westminster councillors?

Question 3:-
Considering the inconsistencies between Cllr Barrow's recent letter and
the City Council's reponse to FOI 3796, it appears that the City Council
may have published erroneous and false information in a view to misleading
the public, which may be referred to as fraud. Can you please clarify.

FOI Reference Number: 3930
Target Completion Date: 13/07/2009

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Dear Mr Jones,

I write regarding your freedom of information request relating to
Councillor expenses and allowances.

In his letter Councillor Colin Barrow was referring to expenses which are
different from allowances.
Freedom of Information request 3796 was interpreted as a request for both
allowances and expenses, which were provided. I apologise if this caused
confusion.

As stated in response to Freedom of Information Request 3796, Councillor
Colin Barrow did not claim any expenses in the last six years, nor did
Councillor Melvyn Caplan. Councillor Chalkley claimed £70.00 for travel
to a conference where he represented the Council in Copenhagen this year
and this will be published with the allowances/expenses for 2009/10 at the
end of April 2010.

For your information, I attach the members allowance scheme and total
allowances and expenses paid for 2008/09. As Councillor Barrow stated a
total of just over £870 was claimed in expenses by Councillors for the
year 2008/09. As you can see from the attached, the exact amount was
£873.30

<<Members Allowance Scheme 2008.doc>> <<allowances 08 09.pdf>>
Kind regards
Stacey

Stacey Baker
Committee & Scrutiny Officer
Westminster City Council
15th Floor
City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QP

Tel. (020)7 641 2341
Fax. (020)7 641 2917
[1]www.westminster.gov.uk

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References

Visible links
1. file://www.westminster.gov.uk

Dear Mr Jones,

In response to Freedom of Information Request 3796, both allowances and
expenses (of which there were none) for the last six years for Councillors
Barrow, Caplan and Chalkley were given. I apologise if this caused
confusion.

As stated in the responses to both Freedom of Information request 3796 and
Freedom of Information request 3930, no expenses have been claimed by
Councillors Barrow, Caplan or Chalkley in the past six years.

Details of allowances and expenses paid each year are published in
accordance with legislation.

As before, I attach the details of allowances and expenses (which are
contained in the same document) for 2008/09 in response to request 3930.
Councillors are limited to what they can claim expenses for and these are
published in the final column.

<<allowances 08 09.pdf>>

Should you still be dissatisfied you have the right to make a complaint to
the Information Commissioner, pursuant to section 50 of the FOIA. The
contact details are:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625-545-700
[1]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Kind regards
Stacey

Stacey Baker
Committee & Scrutiny Officer
Westminster City Council
15th Floor
City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QP

Tel. (020)7 641 2341
Fax. (020)7 641 2917
[2]www.westminster.gov.uk

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
2. file://www.westminster.gov.uk

I am currently on annual leave and will return on Monday 13th July.
Your email has been forwarded to Sarah Craddock (2770).

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