Names of hotels claimed by Andrew Bridgen MP in 2014

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 and address. We have also redacted the full name of one hotel which, if released, would disclose the specific location.

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. This is especially the case for individuals who regularly stay at the same location.

We recognise the public interest in transparency surrounding the publishing of this information, but we are also minded by a strong public interest in ensuring that as an organisation we are able to protect our service users from threats to their safety.  This is achieved through our capacity to withhold certain information from disclosure, and 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.

Annex A

Information published on our website, and information released under your request