Contact: Juliet Samuel (Research) - 0750 096 0931Rejection of Lord Rennard Complaint Raises Concerns About Lords' Expenses

Anti-sleaze, pro-transparency group, The Sunlight Centre, last night had its complaintabout Lord Rennard's expense claims for his second home rejected by the House of Lords' Clerk of the Parliaments' Office.The case raises serious issues aboutHouse of Lords Officeexpense claims:

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Lords have to provide no proof of their meaningful attendance at the House. Allthey have to do is "sign in" to claim an overnight allowance.

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There is no definition of a Lord's main home. This means that even if a Lord onlyoccasionally visits another house outside London, he can nonetheless designateit as his "main home".

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The procedure for deciding complaints occurs without scrutiny in the Clerk'soffice. The only evidence taken was "Lord Rennard's assurances." No transcriptof Rennard's input, nor any supplementary evidence, has been offered to us.

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Lord Rennard admitting flipping the designation of his main residence.The complaint and its rejection were based on the following issues:

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Despite Lord Rennard registering attendance for 129 days between 2007 and2008, he spoke or voted just 31 times. At the time he was also working five daysa week around the corner on Cowley Street.

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The Clerk tells us that Lord Rennard assured him he was nonetheless presentduring every one of those days and "active." This part of the complaint wastherefore rejected.

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The Clerk revealed that, since designating a non-London address as his "mainhome" in 2007, Lord Rennard has spent only two weekends out of three therewhen Parliament is in session. During much of this time, he was employed fivedays a week in London at Liberal Democrat HQ. Nonetheless, the Clerk tells usthat Lord Rennard's weekend visits to his non-London home in Eastbourne aresufficient to allow its designation as his "main home" and "in the absence of anydefinition of main address in the current guidance to the House of Lords’ Members Expenses Scheme"Juliet Samuel, author of the Shadow Kelly Report'Disinfecting Parliament'said:

''For the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office to use the loophole to dismiss this complaint by suggesting that no definition of a main home exists for the House of Lords highlights to

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