Levitt's claims: 2008-2009 ACA claims

We've now updated our spreadsheet of Tom Levitt's expenses claims to take into account the latest figures released for his 2008-2009 claims. The spreadsheet can be found online at this link.

Under the general headings, the official total claimed by Levitt for this period was £20,522.58. However, we have carefully gone through the PDF that contains the details of his claims and can only seem to reconcile the figure of £20,526.18, which is £3.60 more than the official total.

Therefore, using our figures, these are the amounts claimed by Levitt for the financial year 2008-2009 under the Additional Costs Allowance:

Mortgage - £5,952.22

Food - £3,750.00
Utilities - £847.63
Council Tax - £1,093.64
Telephone & Comms - £250.00
Cleaning - £703.00
Service/maintenance - £1,136.67
Repairs/Insurance/Security - £286.96

Below is a selection of 'other' items claimed during the same period:

Bedding - £82.08

Ceramic Hob, Sink Kit, Microwave - £938.50

TV Licence - £139.50

Kitchen utensils - £178.00

Garage rental - £414.00

Valance - £15.99

Low energy light bulbs - £23.97

Cooker hood - £189.00

Kitchen refurbishment - £5,820.00

Hair clippers - £24.99

Poll & online spreadsheet of Tom Levitt's ACA claims

Having now read the documents published by Tom Levitt yesterday regarding his expenses, we have now collectively produced a spreadsheet with full details of the Additional Costs Allowance ('second home') claims made between 2004-2008, and this is now online and can be read by following this link.

Please note that the miscellaneous claims, and any other significant information, is annotated on the spreadsheet. 

We have also detailed the claims in individual posts for each financial year as follows:

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

Also note that we have recorded details of all claims made, and not necessarily monies paid out, or corrected later. We feel it's important that people know what Levitt asked for, rather than what he was given. In any event, the amount of money he has claimed, and what he has claimed for, will astound most people.

In the meantime, we have set up a poll, which you can view at the top of the sidebar. Our initial poll asks whether or not you think Tom Levitt's Constituency Labour Party should have him deselected over the issue of his expenses.

Levitt's claims: 2007-2008 ACA claims

Please read our general post about Tom Levitt's Additional Costs Allowance claims between 2004-2008. The totals are the amounts claimed, but not necessarily paid out.

Under the general headings, these are the amounts claimed by Levitt for the financial year 2007-2008 under the Additional Costs Allowance:

Mortgage - £6,424.34  

Food - £2,916.00

Utilities - £780.00  

Council Tax - £1,267.32  

Telephone & Comms £420.00  

Cleaning - £568.53

Service/maintenance - £1,287.64  

Repairs/Insurance/Security - £455.98

Below is a selection of 'other' items claimed during the same period:

Table - £60.00

Cleaning materials - £20.00

TV Licence  - £136.48

Garage rental - £229.14

Clock/Radio/CD - £99.99

Vacuum Cleaner - £79.99

Cleaning materials - £10.00

Furniture - £ 59.99

Furniture - £ 16.99

Furniture - £ 76.98

External cleaning materials, DIY - £ 20.00

Kitchen equipment - £29.99

Deposit, bathroom furniture replacement - £675.00

Bathroom furniture - £1,577.76

Sideboard - £795.00

Batteries - £10.45

Kitchen tap - £229.83

Levitt's Claims: 2006-2007 ACA claims

Please read our general post about Tom Levitt's Additional Costs Allowance claims between 2004-2008. The totals are the amounts claimed, but not necessarily paid out.

Under the general headings, these are the amounts claimed by Levitt for the financial year 2006-2007 under the Additional Costs Allowance:

Hotel Stays - £683.48

Mortgage - £9,474.77  

Food - £2,368.00

Utilities - £600.00  

Council Tax - £1,200.00  

Telephone & Comms £360.00  

Cleaning - £444.50

Service/maintenance - £1,287.64  

Repairs/Insurance/Security - £187.97

Below is a selection of 'other' items claimed during the same period:

Tiling - £84.69

Radio Alarm - £42.00

Towels - £44.00

Home Broadband - £119.94

Iron - £29.90

TV Licence - £98.61

Electric toothbrush - £49.99

Hair drier (?) - £19.99

Clippers - £24.99

Freezer replacement - £179.99

Residents parking - £85.00

Replacement of carpets in two rooms and corridor with Wood laminate flooring - £930.00

Flooring - £1,441.00

Labour - £1,510.00

Toilet system - £272.00

Builder/decorator - £1,750.00

Furniture/armchair - £89.00

Furniture: armchair, hall cupboard - £60.00

'Sundries' - £197.22

Levitt's Claims: 2005-2006 ACA claims

Please read our general post about Tom Levitt's Additional Costs Allowance claims between 2004-2008. The totals are the amounts claimed, but not necessarily paid out.

Under the general headings, these are the amounts claimed by Levitt for the financial year 2005-2006 under the Additional Costs Allowance:

Mortgage - £14,429.55
Food - £1,936.00
Utilities - £576.00
Council Tax - £982.00
Telephone & Comms - £360.00
Cleaning - £390.00
Service/maintenance - £814.00

Repairs/Insurance/Security - £405.54

Below is a selection of 'other' items claimed during the same period:

TV Licence - £95.50

Bedding - £60.00

Residents annual parking - £85.00

Sky TV - £83.94

Home broadband - £119.94

Duvet cover - £24.00

Bedding - £58.98

Paint - £59.99

Levitt's claims: 2004-2005 ACA claims

Please read our general post about Tom Levitt's Additional Costs Allowance claims between 2004-2008. The totals are the amounts claimed, but not necessarily paid out.

Under the general headings, these are the amounts claimed by Levitt for the financial year 2004-2005 under the Additional Costs Allowance:

Mortgage - £11,287.37  

Food - £2,592.00

Utilities - £576.00  

Council Tax - £1,015.79  

Telephone & Comms £360.00  

Cleaning - £390.00

Service/maintenance - £716.78  

Repairs/Insurance/Security - £496.26 

Below is a selection of 'other' items claimed during the same period:

Sofa Bed - £1,599.00
TV Licence - £121.00       

Gas/electric safety check - £176.25 

Keys - £15.00 

DIY equipment - £80.00 

Hot water tank lagging - £11.60 

Oven (?) shelving etc - £164.19 

Kitchen table - £199.00 

Telephone & extension - £99.00 

Hoover - £89.99 

Shelving - £37.75 

Double bed (second hand) - £200.00 

Bedroom furniture (second hand) - £150.00 

Emergency plumber - £65.00

The Telegraph turns the spotlight on Levitt...

Yesterday saw the publication of the first revelations about Tom Levitt by the Daily Telegraph.

Here are the salient points in their findings:

• He claimed £16.50 for laying a wreath at Remembrance commemorations in 2006 (although the claim was rejected)
  
• He claimed £5,281 for renovation work to a £275,000 maisonette he purchased in 2007 (which was at first queried by the fees office, but then paid in full)
  
• He claimed £8013.77 to have a new bathroom suite fitted in January 2008 - although the fees office only allowed £6,335 to be paid to him
  
• He over-claimed £6,000 in mortgage costs (which he has since repaid)
  

This is a political bombshell for the High Peak which we'll return to examine further as time goes by. But it seems our suspicions about Levitt have proved to be true. And it raises more questions than provides answers.

In the meantime, what disgusts us most is that Levitt has blamed the claiming of the wreath on a member of staff. And at the end of the article, his quote to the Telegraph is:

"As a former member of the Standards and Privileges Committee, my conscience is clear”

Levitt seems to have raised the Telegraph's ire because in his political column 2 weeks ago he accused them of “conniving with criminals in gutter journalism”. Serves him right...

Levitt's expenses totals - year by year

We've produced an online spreadsheet of Levitt's previous expenses claim totals, from the data which is available from the Houses of Parliament website. It makes interesting reading and can be found below.

Looking at the postage and stationary totals for the last published year, you might think Levitt has made significant savings, but then you'll also notice a new category "communications allowance". This was a controversial addition to allowances in 2007, allowing £10,000 per annum to be spent "to assist in the work of communication with the public on parliamentary business". You'll see that Levitt has overspent somewhat, although the rules permit transferring funds from Incidental Expenses (office costs) to this category.

We've also added a column at the end of the sheet to illustrate the increase on the last year for selected items.