Further information on claim by Guy Opperman for Venue Hire Surgery/Meeting

Request

Name of M.P.:   GUY OPPERMAN M.P., Hexham,

His Expense Claim reference 394848 Sept. Date paid 14 Nov. 2014 phone, advertising and surgery.

Please could I have further information for this claim of  £108 including individual surgery dates and costs for the Spetchells, Prudhoe.


Response

IPSA holds the information that you request.

Under the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses (‘the Scheme’), Office Costs Expenditure (OCE) is provided to meet the costs of renting, equipping and running an MP’s office (or offices) and surgeries.

As you will be aware, details of all claims made by MPs are published on our website every two months, three months after the claims have been processed by IPSA. You can find details of all claims made by Mr Opperman on our website at the following address: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-costs/your-mp/guy-opperman/.

The following information has already been published on our website relating to this claim:

MP NameExpense TypeNotesStatusReimbursed
Guy OppermanVenue Hire Surgery/MeetingPrudhoe Spetchells CentreAllowed108.00

Under the Scheme, all claims for reimbursement under the Scheme must be supported by evidence. You can view a copy of the Scheme on our website via this link. As such, we hold all supporting documentation provided in support of claims made by MPs. Please click here to view a copy of the invoice provided in support of the claim in question. We do not hold any further information on individual surgery dates.

Exemptions applied

Section 31 – law enforcement

We have withheld account number and invoice number contained within the invoice under Section 31(1)(a) (Law enforcement) 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, prejudice the prevention (or detection) or crime.

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 probable that this information could be traced back to sensitive personal or commercial information which could be used for criminal activity. Although we recognise the public interest in transparency surrounding the publishing of information relating to MPs’ expenses, there is also a strong public interest in ensuring that we are able to protect our service users from the threat of being subjected to criminal activity. In our opinion the public interest in protecting the security of MPs and their property outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Ref:
CAS-70028
Disclosure:
23 January 2017
Categories:
MPs' OFFICE COSTSCOPIES OF RECEIPTS/INVOICES
Exemptions Applied:
Section 31