Charities minister Angela Smith has claimed £13,900 in food expenses over the past four years as part of her second homes allowance – an average of £289 a month.

Smith told Charity News Alert that the ‘food’ claims were for subsistence and relate to the time spent away from home.

Her highest monthly claim for food hit £400. She claimed an average of £289 for food per month from 2004 to 2008.

Smith spent £10,774 on mortgage interest for her two-bedroom Elephant and Castle flat over the four years. Refurbishments costing £12,085 were also claimed.

She was also a big spender on stationery and postage costs for her offices, claiming £4,152 for April 2007 to March 2008.

This amount is almost double the combined total that shadow charities minister Nick Hurd (£690) and Liberal Democrat charities spokeswoman Jenny Willott (£1,405) spent.

Willott claimed up to £1,500 a month to live in a flat in London as her second home. Nick Hurd does not claim a second homes allowance as he lives in London, he instead claims the smaller London Supplement, which amounted to £2,812 last year.

Smith's total expense claims for 2007/08 amounted to £148,193.00. Willott claimed £149,594.00 and Hurd  £118,669.00 in total for the same period.

Find all MPs' expense claims here.

Vibeka Mair
1 July 2009