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House of Lords Members' Financial Support Explanatory Notes 2020-21

Eligibility to claim

Members of the Lords, who are not paid a salary, may claim a daily allowance of £323 for each qualifying day of attendance at Westminster. Members may elect to claim a reduced allowance at a daily rate of £162, or may choose to make no claim for each sitting day they attend the House. They are also able to recover travel expenses incurred in connection with their Parliamentary duties.

Ministers and Office Holders, who are paid a salary, are able to recover secretarial expenses incurred in respect of their Parliamentary duties. In addition, the Lord Speaker, Senior Deputy Speaker (formerly known as Chairman of Committees), the Chairman of the European Union Committee (formerly known as Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees), Leader of the Opposition and Opposition Chief Whip can be reimbursed travelling expenses between their registered residential address and Westminster. The Lord Speaker, Senior Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the European Union Committee may also be eligible for an allowance paid by the House with their salary for the costs of maintaining a second home in London for the purpose of attending the House. Ministers who are unpaid are entitled to reclaim their allowances and expenses as an unsalaried Member.

Attendance

Allowances and expenses payable to unsalaried Members are linked to attendance at:

  • sittings in the chamber of the House when formal business takes place;
  • sittings of the Grand Committee;
  • voting in a division;
  • meetings of committees and sub-committees of the House (providing the Member’s attendance is recorded in the minutes);
  • meetings as a member of the Board of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST);
  • meetings of the Ecclesiastical Committee and the Audit Committee;
  • meetings of the Lord Speaker’s Advisory Panel on Works of Art;
  • meetings of the Sponsor Board for Restoration and Renewal;
  • meetings of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

The ‘Number of Days Attended’ (column 2a), relate only to attendance at sittings and meetings falling within the criteria listed above. The number of days for which allowances and expenses were claimed in respect of mandated Parliamentary business away from Westminster are listed in column 2b. These days should be taken into account when assessing Members’ claims.

Costs incurred in respect of an attendance at any other meeting, whether held at Westminster or not, can only be recovered if related to mandated Parliamentary business. In most cases these costs are met directly by the House but where Members reclaimed their expenses they are included in the tables.
For attendances after 20 April 2020 the scheme was amended to reflect that the House was holding proceedings differently, combining physical and virtual attendances. Only those who participate, or are otherwise necessary to the proceedings, are eligible for the daily allowance and only the reduced daily allowance (£162) can be claimed. Further changes will apply for attendances after 1 September 2020.

Period Covered

All figures shown relate to allowances and expenses for one calendar month.
Ministerial and Office Holder Secretarial Expenses are subject to an annual maximum based on the year from 1 August to 31 July.

Column 1: Location of Registered Address (county or equivalent)

This column shows the location of the Member's registered residential address, by county or equivalent. Entries in this column are voluntary.

Column 2a: Number of Days Attended

The ‘Number of Days Attended’ reflects the official record of those days when a Member attended a sitting in the chamber of the House when formal business took place, attended a sitting of the Grand Committee, voted in a division, or attended a select committee of the House. Days on which a Member worked on Parliamentary business without attending a public sitting of the House, or a committee, are not included in the total. As outlined above the scheme was amended to reflect that the House was holding proceedings that included physical and virtual attendance. This applied to attendances after 20 April 2020 and the ‘Number of Days Attended’ includes both physical attendance and virtual participation for a Member.

Column 2b: Number of Days Away From Westminster

The ‘Number of Days Away from Westminster’ reflects those days individual Members participated in mandated Parliamentary business away from Westminster, which qualified for the reduced daily allowance of £162 for each day of the visit, and for which they made a claim.

Column 3: Daily Allowance

Unsalaried Members who certify that they have undertaken Parliamentary work are entitled to claim a daily allowance of £323 for each qualifying day of attendance at Westminster. A Member may, on a day by day basis, elect to claim the reduced allowance at the daily rate of £162.
Unsalaried Members who certify that they have undertaken Parliamentary work when on qualifying mandated parliamentary business away from the House are entitled to claim the daily allowance at the reduced rate of £162.
Members who do not wish to claim the allowance for any particular day of attendance need not do so.

A Member may not claim the daily allowance for a qualifying day of attendance at Westminster and also claim the reduced daily allowance in respect of Parliamentary business away from Westminster on the same day.
For attendances after 20 April 2020 the scheme was amended to reflect that the House was holding proceedings differently, combining physical and virtual attendances. For attendances in April to July 2020 only the reduced daily allowance (£162) can be claimed. Further changes will apply for attendances after 1 September 2020.

Column 4a-c: Travel Expenses

Members who live outside Greater London can recover travel expenses for certain journeys between a registered residential address and Westminster. Members can recover the cost of fares incurred by them for travel by rail, sea, air, bus, or (subject to the limits set out below) the costs of travel by private car, motorcycle or bicycle. Certain road tolls, parking and taxi fares can also be recovered.
The total travel costs listed in columns 4a to 4c have been further analysed by mode of transport in the adjacent columns. As ferry and coach costs are minimal, they have been combined with rail costs.

Motor Mileage allowance

45p per mile up to 10,000 miles in the year ending 31 March, and
25p per mile for mileage in excess of 10,000 miles in the same year

Motorcycle Allowance

24p per mile

Bicycle allowance

20p per mile

Column 4a – Attendance Travel Costs

Expenses incurred in travelling between a Member's registered residential address and Westminster for the purpose of attending qualifying business of the House.

Column 4b – UK Travel on Parliamentary Business

In addition to the arrangements for travel to Westminster, the cost of journeys made on certain Parliamentary business elsewhere within the United Kingdom can also be recovered.

Column 4c – EU and Devolved Assembly Travel

Members are able to recover the costs of a maximum of two return journeys (including certain subsistence and accommodation costs) per year, for travel on parliamentary business, between the United Kingdom and any:

  • National parliament of a European Union member state or candidate country;
  • National parliament of a Council of Europe member state;
  • European Union institution or agency;
  • Institutions of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg;
  • National parliament of a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

Members are also able to recover the costs of a maximum of two return journeys (including certain subsistence and accommodation costs) per year between their registered residential address, London home or Westminster and the Scottish Parliament or the devolved assemblies of Northern Ireland and Wales.

Column 5: Free Postage Costs

Prepaid envelopes and postcards are available for use by Members for correspondence on House of Lords business. The costs shown include the postage and envelope costs.

Column 6: Ministerial and Office Holder Secretarial Expenses

Ministers and other paid Office Holders are able to recover expenses for secretarial assistance certified as incurred by them in the performance of their Parliamentary duties. The maximum amount payable per year are:

  • 1 August 2019 – 31 July 2020 £7,681
  • 1 August 2020 – 31 July 2021 £7,804

Column 7: Spouse, Civil Partner and Children’s Travel

Members who live outside Greater London may recover travel expenses for journeys undertaken by their spouse or civil partner between the Member’s registered residential address and Westminster. This must be in connection with attendance of the spouse or civil partner at a parliamentary occasion, i.e. a sitting of the House, committee of the House or another parliamentary event taking place on a sitting day. Members may also recover the costs incurred by each of their children, up to the age of 18 (and children over 18 still in full time secondary education, until the end of the academic year in which their 18th birthday falls) on the same basis.