Jacqui Smith

HC 974, Ninth Report of Session 2008-09

Author:

House of Commons - Committee on Standards and Privileges

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

This report concerns the investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards into two complaints against Jacqui Smith, the MP for Redditch. The Committee recommends that Ms Smith apologise to the House through a personal statement.

The complaints were that Ms Smith had:

• 1. wrongly designated her main home for the purposes of claiming Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) in respect of her second home; and

• 2. claimed against ACA for the cost of films viewed on cable television at her second home.

The Commissioner concludes that Ms Smith was in breach of the rules over the designation of her main home from 2004 to 2009, and that she should have designated her constituency home as her main home rather than the house she shared with her sister and her sister's partner in London. The Committee supports this finding, though noting the mitigating circumstances of Ms Smith taking advice from the House authorities in 2007. The Committee recommends that Ms Smith apologise to the House through a personal statement.

On the second complaint, the Committee welcomes Ms Smith's admission of error and regards her repayment of a sum in excess of that wrongly claimed as sufficient to close the matter.

Extent	112 pages	ISBN	9780215541062
Size	A4	Price	£15.50
Binding	Paperback	Published	12 Oct 2009
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges

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