Our MSPs are making allowances!

EWAN LAMB takes a lighthearted look at the latest expenses payments to our political representatives

As any competent Returning Officer might not say: "All of the claims are in: all of the receipts have been counted."

It means Not Just Sheep & Rugby can reveal that so far as the Scottish Borders constituencies are concerned the SNP suffered a fearful hammering at the hands of the Tories during 2017/18 on the allowance claims front.

The final tally was Rachael Hamilton MSP (Conservative, Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire) 307 claims worth £31,186; Christine Grahame MSP (SNP, Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale) 148 claims worth £19,281. Tory majority £11,905.

However, SNP supporters will point to the fact that the veteran Ms Grahame has narrowed the gap after being trounced by an even bigger margin in 2016/17. The figures for that financial year make dismal reading for the Nationalists, but we repeat them nevertheless:

John Lamont MSP (Conservative, Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire) 436 claims worth £34,209; Christine Grahame MSP (SNP, Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale) 176 claims worth £19,241. Tory majority £14,968.

There appear to have been no spoiled invoices in either financial year.

So the figures show that while Ms Grahame picked up an extra £40 worth of claims between the two financial years, the value of the Tory claim count fell by an alarming £3,023. Political analysts are unsure whether the change of MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire had a marked impact on this year's outcome.

A breakdown of the statistics on the Scottish Parliament website shows the bulk of Mrs Hamilton's returns came from the cost of Edinburgh accommodation (£12,604), office costs (£10,377), travel (£2,611) and surgery advertising (£1,605).

The list of office cost items included claims for black bags 89 pence, wipes £1.07, toilet brush and holder £1.31, a purple coat stand £53.93, a kettle £31 and office carpets £1,398.

Mrs Hamilton also submitted an allowance claim for an overnight stay in London - £182 for bed & breakfast at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster on November 27th 2017.

Ms Grahame, who lives in Edinburgh, did not claim for accommodation in the city or for any overnight stays. The various headings show travel £1,066 (including 23 journeys on the Borders Railway), office costs £14,984, surgery advertising £1,725 and telecommunications £1,372. Her expenses for business meetings amounted to £40 for catering at a single event at the Tontine Hotel, Peebles.

Holyrood newcomer from the Borders Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative, South of Scotland) handed in 106 claims worth £10,573 although the total and value were undoubtedly affected by her "late arrival" in Parliament.

Mrs Ballantyne only became a list MSP in May 2017, replacing Mrs Hamilton after her constituency victory allowed her to take over from Mr Lamont (now a Westminster MP for virtually the same area). Following his "elevation" to the House of Commons in June 2017 Mr Lamont submitted 466 separate expense claims totalling £58,148 in the 10 months to the end of the financial year in March 2018.

But Mrs Ballantyne also continued to serve as Tory group leader on Scottish Borders Council until she resigned on December 5th 2017. Her council allowances meant she collected £12,033 from SBC between April and December of last year.

Her MSP expenses included Edinburgh accommodation £6,013, office costs £1,075, travel £2,052, surgery advertising £1,263 and a wall clock £8.83.

A couple of out of area claims raised a smile in the office. Jackson Carlaw claimed for 157 separate taxi journeys while Miles Briggs recovered £2.40 for jugs of water consumed at a "business meeting".

The salary for each MSP is currently set at £62,149 while their allowance for staffing costs is capped at £87,300.The salary for a Commons MP is £77,379.