Names of hotel stayed at for hotel claims
Request
For the following expenses claims, to which hotel was the money paid?
309857 Andrew Lansley £450
311143 Andrew Bridgen £600
303096 Angus MacNeil £450
303215 Annette Brook £150
304648 Brandon Lewis £600
303060 Crispin Blunt £150
309556 Damian Hinds £121
309748 Dan Poulter £450
303371 David Lidington £450
303132 Gavin Shuker £104
309642 Geraint Davies £150
306491 Graham Stringer £450
305795 Grant Shapps £150
309605 James Arbuthnot £600
303277 Jamie Reed £450
303263 Mark Simmonds £150
303405 Stephen Gilbert £450
Response
IPSA holds the information that you request.
Members of Parliament are permitted, under the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses (‘the Scheme’), to claim for expenses legitimately incurred whilst carrying out their parliamentary duties and are required to certify that this is the case before submitting claims. This may include any food or drink costs incurred for the purpose of hospitality, or overnight accommodation at a hotel, up to a maximum cost of £150 per night in the London Area, or £120 elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Please find at Annex A (below) the information requested, accompanied by the information already published on our website describing each claim.
As you will see from the attached Annex, while we have released information relating to the name of the hotel brand, we have withheld the exact location of the hotel to which 15 of the 17 claims you requested relate. We have withheld this information under Section 38(1)(b) (Health and safety) of the FOI Act. This section of the Act states that information is exempt if its disclosure under the FOI Act would, or would be likely to, endanger the safety of any individual.
After considering the nature of the withheld information it is our opinion that were a disclosure to be made into the public domain it is likely that this information could be used to endanger the safety of the individuals who rely upon these locations for accommodation. Although we recognise the public interest in transparency surrounding the publishing of this information there is also a strong public interest in ensuring that as an organisation we are able to protect our service users from threats to their safety, which is achieved through our capacity to withhold certain information from disclosure. This is also in line with our stated publication policy. It is for this reason that we have decided that the application of the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Information published on our website, and information released under your requests
MP Name | Claim number | Hotel Name |
Andrew Lansley | 309857 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Andrew Bridgen | 311143 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Angus MacNeil | 303096 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Annette Brooke | 303215 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Brandon Lewis | 304648 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Crispin Blunt | 303060 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Damian Hinds | 309556 | Hilton London Docklands, Riverside[1] |
Dan Poulter | 309748 | Intercontinental, [Location redacted] |
David Lidington | 303371 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Gavin Shuker | 303132 | Royal Windsor Hotel, Grand Place, Brussels |
Geraint Davies | 309642 | Thistle [Location redacted] |
Graham Stringer | 306491 | Intercontinental, [Location redacted] |
Grant Shapps | 305795 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
James Arbuthnot | 309605 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Jamie Reed | 303277 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Mark Simmonds | 303263 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
Stephen Gilbert | 303405 | Park Plaza [Location redacted] |
[1] The exemption has not been applied in this case, as Mr Hinds expressly requested we not redact the exact location of the hotel.
Is this page helpful?
- Ref:
- F1314-245
- Disclosure:
- 21 April 2014
- Categories:
- GENERAL EXPENSES ENQUIRYMPs' ACCOMMODATIONMPs' TRAVEL
- Exemptions Applied:
- Section 38