Below is a summary of the Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) for Tobias Ellwood for each financial year since the last General Election.

All ACA claims are submitted to the House of Commons Fees Office which reviews the claim forms and receipts and determines the amount which is rendered to each MP.

All items claimed for which are valued over £250 must include a receipt.

Items which can be claimed for are:
• cost of a mortgage (interest only)
• council tax and utility bills
• food
• telephone and communications bills
• cleaning, service and maintenance costs
• repairs, service, insurance and security.

Notes:

1. Fees Office audit
06/07: Errors made by the Fees Office mean Tobias was not paid the full amount claimed for. He received£442 less due to errors in calculations. This was never rectified but one case of overpayment of £338 was claimed back the following year.

2. Other income
Tobias has no other income streams and no other jobs outside of Parliament.

3. ACA verses other costs
As illustrated in the full table of expenses at the very bottom, the ACA is the only allowance that is linked to an MP personally. All other allowances that make up the total annual expenses (in Tobias' case, £130,186 for the financial year 07/08) are linked to and claimed in respect of the running and staff costs of the parliamentary office and are not paid to the MP.

4. Second home location
At the time of the General Election Tobias already owned a flat in London which he had rented out (unfurnished) since its purchase. The rental arrangements ended immediately following the General Election. When he was first elected in 2005, on advice from the Fees Office, Tobias' flat in London was designated as his 'second home' as the flat in Bournemouth where Tobias lived prior to and following the General Election was not in his name and was only a temporary solution until he was able to purchase a home himself.

When Tobias had purchased a property in the constituency, his 'second home' was designated as his Bournemouth house. The designation was changed at the end of the 06/07 financial year when the house was purchased.

Had Tobias designated Bournemouth as his second home from the outset he could have been criticized for 'flipping' to another property and making an inappropriate financial gain. He also believed it would be inappropriate to make ACA claims for a property which was not held in his name.

Tobias has not sold any properties during his time as an MP and has never claimed any stamp duty or legal or accountancy fees under the ACA.

5. 'Other' claims

Items worth over £250 or more are listed below.

07/08:
£0

06/07:
Roof repairs £250
Curtains £350

O5 to 06:
Carpets £1,960
Curtains £532
Bed and mattress£1,145

Items claimed of value less than £250 include:
TV license (£121, £121& £10), mirror (£93), vacuum cleaner (£158), individual furnishings totaling (£949) and home decorating (£226).

6. Claims made to Fees Office which resulted in no payment
i) A claim was made in error on the ACA form in the financial year 05/06 for a work computer which should have been submitted on a different form for office equipment. This error was rectified and Tobias did not receive any amount under the ACA in respect of this error.

ii) Inquiries were made in the financial year 06/07 in relation to the renovation of a loft access and installation of a skylight in the bathroom. Speaking with the Fees Office for advice,Tobias was asked to submit the invoices for consideration by the Fees Office. These were submitted, together with a claim form, and were subsequently refused as they were deemed to be capital improvements rather than repairs. Having received this information, no claim was pursued and Tobias did not receive any amount under the ACA in respect of this work.

7. Changes to the rules governing ACA claims
David Cameron has made the key amendments to the rules governing claims by all Conservative MPs going forward in order to take immediate action to clean up the ACA system and increase transparency in Parliament.. Click here for more details

8. Review by The Conservative Party Scrutiny Committee.
Rather than wait for the Independent Commission's report due in October, an internal review by the Party's own Scrutiny Committee has introduced tougher rules which are effective immediately. This has resulted in over £150,000 being paid back to the tax payer.

Tobias has been asked to pay back £145 as the new Tory rules stipulate no furniture can be claimed for worth over £1,000. Tobias purchased a mattress (£495) and a bed (£650) totaling £1145 so exceeding the new cap by £145. The payment has now been made.

9. Further questions about ACA or expenses
Any Bournemouth East constituent wishing to discuss Tobias Ellwood's ACA claims or the issue of expenses is welcome to contact Tobias to arrange a meeting. Contact details are available here.

All allowances