Political Expenses special - Brian Coleman LFEPA expenses scandal - Updated

Note : This blog is a reposting of one which was deleted by the blogger system problems, where several posts disappeared - It is an updated version of a post on 11th may

London Assembly member Brian Coleman, is allowed to claim expenses to cover his costs a member of the LFEPA (London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority).

Details for April 2010 to March 2011 are here :-

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/mem_exp_10_11.asp

You may be interested to see how much he claims compared to his colleagues

Brian Coleman	April 2010 to March 2011	£3,480.20
Darren Johnson	April 2010 to March 2011	£0.00
Gareth Bacon	April 2010 to March 2011	£0.00
Mike Tuffrey	April 2010 to March 2011	£0.00
Murad Qureshi	April 2010 to March 2011	£0.00
Navin Shah	April 2010 to March 2011	£0.00
Richard Tracey	April 2010 to March 2011	£23.96
Tony Arbour	April 2010 to March 2011	£378.86

You may wonder what costs so much. Well amongst the other entries, it seems that the Taxpayer is picking up the bill for Conservative members away days :-

6/11/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - London Councils Conservative Group Away Day at Westminster City Hall, SW1	£11.44
26/11/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - London Councils Conservative Group Away Day at Westminster City Hall, SW1	£8.00

There are plenty of other interesting items here :-

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Brian_Coleman_2010_2011.asp

I don't see why the London Taxpayer should subsidise Tory Away Days. Interestingly his Tory Colleagues haven't claimed for this.

A few other interesting notes. 

01/12/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Lunch with James Pearson at The Carlton Club, SW1 for FiReControl briefing	£10.89
01/12/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Lunch with James Pearson at The Carlton Club, SW1 for FiReControl briefing	£8.00
01/12/2010	Travel	Car Parking - Lunch with James Pearson at The Carlton Club, SW1 for FiReControl briefing - parking meter fee	£6.60

What is interesting here is that there is no corresponding entry in the Gifts and Hospitality register. Does this mean  that Councillor Coleman attended a fire control briefing lunch and paid for his own dinner?

Or what about this

12/10/2010

Travel

Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street, SE1 ('Previous Charging Day' amount of £10 applies)

£10.00

Here Coleman forgot to pay the congestion charge on time, so the Taxpayer picks up an extra £2

Or what about these entries :-

14/07/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Lunch at House of Commons with new MPs	£11.44
14/07/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Lunch at House of Commons with new MPs	£8.00
14/07/2010	Travel	Taxi (invoiced) - Taxi journey from GLA, City Hall to Houses of Parliament - lunch with new MPs	£31.51

4/07/2010

Travel

Taxi (invoiced) - Taxi journey from Union St to St Pauls Cathedral EC4 - Mayor's Service

£31.51

 Again, nothing in the register of gifts & hospitality for this date - even more interesting is how you get a £31.51 Taxi bill from GLA, City Hall to the Houses of Parliament? I've walked this route on many occasions, it isn't exactly a long way. Coleman has claimed mileage to drive to the House of Commons and for a Taxi bill. By an amazing coincidence, he also had exactly the same taxi fare on the same day from Union St to St Pauls Cathedral, a distance of just over a mile.

There is a GLA and Mayoral Election next year. Brian Coleman's job as chair of the LFEPA is a gift from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Brian Coleman gets a free all zones travelcard for being a GLA rep (+ a salary of £50K per annum). One has to conclude that Boris Johnson thinks that Coleman using his expenses in this way is absolutely fine. We have to conclude that he thinks that his fire boss using his expenses to pay for Tory awaydays is fine. I wonder how many people who might vote for Boris or Brian Coleman think that this is how we want elected representatives to carry on?