Office Expenses

Diane Dodds MEP

Member of European Parliament for Northern Ireland

Expenses and Allowances Expenditure for July 2009-December 2009

1.  Name of Paying Agent/Service Provider

Mr. Aaron Bowman,

(Member of Association of Chartered Accountants)

1 Weavers Meadows, Banbridge

2. Secretarial Assistance Allowance (Article 33 PEAM)

Family members employed as staff:

None

3. General Expenditure Allowance (Article 28 PEAM)

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¹ MEPs can submit claims for car journeys in their own country up to an annual distance of 24000 km annually at the rate of €0.49/km

² Figure includes £4000 paid in rent to the Democratic Unionist Party for use of offices as temporary premises

³ Unlike Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly, it is the responsibility of the Member of the European Parliament to purchase all IT equipment for use in their constituency office

⁴ Rent paid for hire of hall for rural advice surgery
4. Home to Parliament travel (and return) Article 10a PEAM⁵

Other Travel Allowances (Article 10b and 10c PEAM)

5. Daily Subsistence Allowance (Article 11 PEAM)⁶

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⁵ Travel expenses are reimbursed on the basis of expenses actually incurred.

⁶ Diane Dodds is not a member of a Parliamentary Group and therefore does not travel to Brussels on group weeks. The  Subsistence allowance covers accommodation costs, meals and transport within the place of work

Additional Information

Regular Declaration

Diane Dodds has decided to provide greater transparency on her expenses and allowances by producing this report every three months rather than every six months.

MEP’s Salary

Diane Dodds receives the MEP salary as set by the new statue for MEPs salaries and allowances.  As a new MEP the option of receiving a salary equal to a Westminster MPs was not available.  This option was only open to sitting MEPs.

MEPs Salary and Taxation

The United Kingdom government has exercised its treaty rights as regards MEP salaries.  Therefore, like all other UK MEPs, Diane Dodds pays the equivalent UK national taxation level on her salary and contributes to the UK National Insurance Scheme.

MEPs Accounts

These will be independently audited annually.  The first set of accounts will be produced at the end of the next financial year.

Information Allowance

All MEPs have access to an information allowance similar to the Westminster model, the amount of which varies depending on whether the MEP is in a political group or sits as an independent. This money can be used for the establishing and administering of a website, producing promotional material and taking specialist advice on a subject. Diane Dodds has used this for the design, build and maintenance of her website and the promotion of her work and contact details. All items require express prior approval from Parliament officials and are paid directly to suppliers. Diane Dodds is not related to any of these service providers. The total expenditure under this category is €6593.34

Levels of expenditure

In future reports the level of expenditure in a number of categories e.g. office costs will rise as this six month period included the set-up of the European operation.

Office Arrangements

The European office has now moved to Garvey Studios,

DUP party headquarters has been paid £4000 in rent to cover the period of temporary accommodation from July to December 2009