Mike Hall MP - 15 grand to clean his house an suits.

Cleaning out the taxpayers pockets....The MP for Weaver Vale in Cheshire has charged nearly £15,000 in MPs expenses over three years for his small, two-storey house in Kennington to be cleaned and for his clothes to be laundered and ironed.

In 2005/06 Mr Hall claimed £5,194 towards his cleaning bills. This fell to £4,346 in 2006/07 before rising to £5,408 last year.

Each month, the MP claimed between £100 and £200 on “cleaning” and a further £110 a month on dry cleaning, laundry and ironing.

Tough on grime, tough on the causes of grime.

On top of this he submitted monthly claims for up to £250 for what he referred to as “household sundries”.

Mr Hall did not submit any proof of this regular expenditure because at that time only claims above £250, other than for food, had to be backed by an invoice or receipt.

The MP did, however, subsequently submit a list of the cleaning products he said he purchased every month.

These were: “Cleaning cloths/sponges; kitchen towels; toilet tissue; floor/kitchen/oven/window cleaning fluids; bathroom cleaners/disinfectant/bleach; Limelite solution; laundry products; stain removers; air fresheners; polish; binbags; and vermin and pest sprays.”

Mr Hall sat on the 18-strong committee of MPs that helped to draft legislation in 2007 that would have prevented details of parliamentarians’ expenses and allowances being disclosed to the public.

The MP, who employs his wife Lesley as his office manager, claimed the maximum Additional Costs Allowance towards the running of his second home in 2006/07 and in 2004/05. Last year he claimed just under the maximum, receiving £23,067 from the taxpayer.

As well as his cleaning expenditure, this total was made up of mortgage interest payments, of up to £940 a month, about £100 council tax, utilities, service, insurance and maintenance costs and his telephone bill.

During the period in question Mr Hall regularly submitted expenses claims for food, amounting to between £240 and £310 a month.

He also claimed £620 to repair an uneven back step and uneven flagstones in the back yard of his second home, which is two miles from the House of Commons. In his claim he described the step and flagstones as “dangerous and hazardous”.

Tough on flagstones, tough on the causes of....

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