Fiona's Accounts
General Expenditure
The general expenditure allowance is, according to the rules of the European Parliament, "chiefly intended to cover office management expenditure, phone bills, postage, the purchase, management and use of IT equipment, and travel by Members within their own Member State". Scanned invoices and receipts documenting all expenditure paid from this allowance from the start of this parliamentary term will be uploaded to the website on a quarterly basis.
The general expenditure allowance for 2008 totalled £34,754. 100% of expenditure is supported by documentation and yearly accounts are prepared by an external accountant (Tait Walker of Gosforth, Newcastle). A summary of the accounts is displayed in the table below.
| Advertising | 168 |
| Bank charges | 34 |
| Computer costs | 181 |
| Dilapidation Fund | 1216 |
| Insurance | 321 |
| Legal and professional fees | 1083 |
| Light and heat | 2182 |
| Printing, stationary and postage | 1553 |
| Rates and water | 3520 |
| Rent | 15612 |
| Repairs and maintenance | 1539 |
| Staff Training | 88 |
| Sundry expenses | 1199 |
| Telephone | 3177 |
| Travel and subsistence | 2881 |
| Total | 34754 |
Travel
MEPs have one journey a week from home to work reimbursed at a flat rate on the basis of distance and mode of transport. All other travel outside the UK is reimbursed at cost. In all cases, proof of travel is required. Fiona received €63,245.26 in 2008 for travel outside the UK. Travel within the UK is paid for out of the general expenditure allowance (see above).
Subsistence
MEPs receive a daily subsistence allowance for official attendance on Parliamentary duties in the EU but outside the UK. For official attendance on Parliamentary duties outside the EU, MEPs receive half the daily subsistence allowance plus the cost of bed and breakfast. In total Fiona received €42,810.31 for subsistence in 2008
Staff
Fiona currently employs four full-time and one part-time staff as well as one trainee. Staff on traineeships are paid up to £15 000 per annum and permanent staff between £15 000 and £30 000 pa FTE (or euro equivalent at July 2009 exchange rate). The total wage bill and staff costs for 2009 were €199,107.26. This figure also covers items such as staff travel expenses, and accountant and paying agent fees.
Fiona employs Tait Walker chartered accountants as a service provider to prepare the office accounts and also as her paying agent. The role of a paying agent is to administer an MEP's staff payroll. Fiona is not a member of the additional voluntary pension scheme and does not employ any members of her family.
A summary of MEPs' allowances is available on the European Parliament's website here.
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