Peers can now charge taxpayers for hotel stays for the first time.
Members of the House of Lords have been given permission to claim up to £100 a night when they have to stay in London on parliamentary business.
Their overnight allowance comes on top of the £342 they already receive for each day they appear in the Upper House.
It has been agreed by all three major political parties after concerns from peers that the high cost of staying in the capital is unfair to those who live elsewhere.
‘We recommend that a new allowance should be introduced for overnight accommodation for Members from outside Greater London,’ a report published yesterday by the House of Lords Commission stated.
Peers can now charge taxpayers for hotel stays for the first time (File Image)
‘Members attending the House from outside London face greater barriers to attendance. We consider it important that voices from across the country should be heard in the House of Lords and that the scheme for financial support for Members should enable this.’
READ MORE: DAILY MAIL COMMENT – CONTEMPTUOUS LORDS ARE ASKING FOR REFORM
The new rules – set to be introduced on April 15 – are expected to sail through the Lords’ voting and will only apply to peers with registered residential addresses outside Greater London.
Current orders allow them to claim on ‘attendance travel costs’ including mileage, rail fares and even plane tickets if they live in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said ‘taxpayers are fed up with the growing cost of legislators’. He added: ‘Parliament should do the right thing and scrap this change.’
The overnight allowance follows complaints that the House has been forced to sit late into the night to discuss key legislation.
One session in June was held from 9.30pm until 4.16am, to which the chairman, Lord Lexden, said: ‘My doctor, who has been a little concerned about some aspects of my ageing system, telephoned with warm congratulations.’
A House of Lords spokesman said: ‘It is important that all parts of the UK are represented in the House of Lords, and that Members who live outside London are not prevented from participating in the business of the House due to rising accommodation costs.’