Shropshire MPs in £2,000 energy bills claims
MPs across Shropshire and Mid Wales claimed more than £2,000 of taxpayers' money to cover the cost of their energy bills.
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski claimed just over £1,000 in the 12 months up to March this year.
Environment Secretary and North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson claimed about £400, Telford MP David Wright claimed about £330, Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies claimed about £300 and Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard claimed about £65.
Meanwhile, Ludlow MP Philip Dunne didn't claim any money during the same period.
Mr Kawczynski said: "Accommodation in London is expensive and the budget allocation, as determined by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, is insufficient to cover both rent and utility bills.
"I have claimed for utility bills in the past, but have had to revisit this in this financial year due to budget restraints. As such I now finance £6,000 towards my own rent and pay all utility bills myself."
Mr Davies said: "For those MPs who live outside London and do not stay at hotels, Parliament supports housing arrangements including rent, council tax and electricity – up to a fixed level. The electricity share of my allowance last year was £300, while my payment over the allowance was £900."
Mr Dunne said: "I had a flat and didn't feel like I needed to claim. It is up to each individual as to whether they claim or not."
Mr Paterson, Mr Pritchard and Mr Wright were unavailable.
Nationally, 340 MPs, including Government ministers, claimed £200,000 to cover the cost of their energy bills.
Bills costing more than £1,000 were submitted by 41 MPs while 78 made claims for £500 in the 12 month period.
The MP who claimed the most was Conservative Nadhim Zahawi who claimed £5,822 – more than four times the average household energy bill – to power and heat his £1 million constituency home in a 31-acre estate.
The Stratford-on-Avon MP and his wife run a riding school and he is a director of a number of firms. He also owns a £5 million detached home in London.
The claims do not break any parliamentary rules but come at a time of heightened tensions over the spiralling cost of gas and electricity.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "It's disgraceful that well-paid MPs should claim expenses for heating costs at the same time that thousands of families are struggling to pay to turn the oven on to cook dinner for their families."
The maximum an MP can claim for their second home allowance in a year is £20,100 and this figure includes claims for gas and electricity bills.
How much was claimed by MPs to cover the cost of their energy bills:
Daniel Kawczynski, Shrewsbury & Atcham, Conservative, £1,067.76, gas and electricity
Owen Paterson, North Shropshire, Conservative, £408.33, gas
David Wright, Telford, Labour, £330.78, electricity
Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire, Conservative, £297.08, electricity
Mark Pritchard, Wrekin, Conservative, £64.18, electricity
Philip Dunne, Ludlow, Conservative, didnt claim.
