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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/some-mps-better-off-under-rules.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="A loophole in new parliamentary expenses rules has reportedly left some MPs thousands of pounds better off despite a crackdown" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/min-some-mps-better-off-under-rules.jpg" alt="A loophole in new parliamentary expenses rules has reportedly left some MPs thousands of pounds better off despite a crackdown"/></a></p>
<p>A loophole in new parliamentary expenses rules has left some MPs thousands of pounds better off than they were before the crackdown which followed last year&#8217;s scandals, it was has been claimed.</p>
<p>Under the new rules, being phased in over two years after the general election, MPs will be barred from claiming back mortgage interest payments on their second homes but will instead be able to receive expenses to pay for rented accommodation.</p>
<p>The Mail on Sunday reported that some MPs have increased their income by letting out their formerly taxpayer-subsidised second home, while moving into a rented flat on which they can claim expenses. Any MP taking this course of action will also avoid a clawback mechanism which would require them to pay back up large sums if their second homes gain in value during the transition period ending in 2012. </p>
<p>There is no suggestion that the practice breaches the rules introduced by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). But sleaze-busting former Independent MP Martin Bell told the paper: &#8220;The public will demand that the rules be changed so they are subject to the same constraints as the rest of us. I don&#8217;t think people are going to take very kindly to this.&#8221; </p>
<p>Mail on Sunday analysis of MPs&#8217; entries in the House of Commons Register of Members&#8217; Interests found that 102 are supplementing their £65,000 parliamentary salary by renting out properties.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the details of expenses released by Ipsa last week showed that there were many claims for rented accommodation among payments totalling £31 million to MPs over the first six months of the new scheme&#8217;s operation. Some MPs were claiming more for rent after the election than they received to cover home loans under the old system, said the paper.</p>
<p>Motherwell MP Frank Roy claimed £885 in monthly mortgage interest ahead of the election, and is now claiming £1,430 a month in rent for a London flat. Following the election, his Commons register was updated to add a &#8220;residential flat in London from which rental income is received&#8221;.</p>
<p>Bolton North East MP David Crausby had been claiming £1,331 a month on his second home mortgage, and is now receiving £1,450 for accommodation rent. His register entry, which before the election read &#8220;nil&#8221;, now includes &#8220;income received from a residential property in London owned jointly with my wife&#8221;.</p>
<p>And Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts is claiming £1,450 monthly rent for a London flat, compared to the £992 a month he received to cover mortgage payments ahead of the election. His register entry has also been updated to include &#8220;one residential property in London, for which rental income is received&#8221;.</p>
<p>None of the three MPs commented to the Mail on Sunday and it was not immediately possible to reach them for a response on Saturday night. There was no suggestion that any of them had breached Ipsa or House of Commons rules by their actions, and it was unclear how many other MPs had submitted similar claims.</p>
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