MSPs claim over £1.5m in expenses in just six months - with one MSP claiming more than £43,000

Over £1.6m was paid out to MSPs in expenses in just six months - including one MSP who claimed a whopping £43,600.

Emma Harper, who is an SNP MSP for South Scotland, racked up £43,652 in expenses between April 2023 and September 2023.

According to the data which was published this week, this is £10,200 more than any other MSP claimed in the same time period.

Her expenses include £5,970 on rent for accommodation in Edinburgh, £1,733.32 in council tax, and £2,403.94 on utility bills.

She also claimed £7,363.83 on mail, £6,604 on printing and photocopying, and £1,228.57 on “parliamentary travel abroad”.

A spokesman for Ms Harper said she has a “considerable” area to cover as she is a regional MSP covering the South of Scotland, and regularly travels across the “vast area” to engage with constituents.

They said the claim for travel abroad related to her work representing constituents, and added: “All costs claimed are approved by parliament and Emma is absolutely confident that all claims are within the strict rules outlined by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.”

Over the first and second quarter of 2023/24, MSPs claimed a total of £1,664,079.07 in expenses, with the biggest expenses being rent for constituency offices, and either rent on Edinburgh accommodation or hotel rooms in Edinburgh.

A total of £112,911 was spent on hotel rooms in the capital - the biggest hotel room claim came from Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Alexander Stewart on £5,700.64, followed by the Conservative MSP for the North East Maurice Golden on £5,592.

A further £119,589.12 was dished out to cover rent on accommodation in Edinburgh, and £68,591.54 on council tax bills.

Thirty-four MSPs listed claims for rent in Edinburgh on their expenses.

The second biggest claim from a single MSP was for £33,366.33 from Karen Adam, the SNP MSP for Banff and Buchan Coast.

The next three biggest expenses came from the MSPs representing Scotland’s three island constituencies - £28,076.97 from Lib Dem MSP for Shetland Beatrice Wishart, £25,750.08 from Lib Dem MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur, and £25,339.52 for SNP MSP for the Western Isles Dr Alasdair Allan.

Also making the top 10 biggest expenses claims were the Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands Rhoda Grant (£24,568.36), SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Maree Todd (£24,555.48), SNP MSP for Ayr Siobhian Brown (£23,923.52) the Green MSP for Glasgow Patrick Harvie (£23,519.27), and the Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands Edward Mountain (£23,174.63).

Mr Harvie also claimed the most out of any of the party leaders in Holyrood.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross claimed £16,180.75, Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton claimed £13,237.27, the then SNP leader Humza Yousaf claimed £11,235.03, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claimed £7,448.84, and Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater claimed £3,424.78.

Some of the party leaders are given an allowance for extra expenses - this is £48,885 for the leaders of the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives (parties with over 30 MSPs) and £25,738 for the leader of Scottish Labour (parties with between 15 and 29 MSPs).

Ms Slater’s expenses were the lowest of any MSP, excluding Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone who claimed 51p.

The next two smallest were Labour MSP for South Scotland Martin Whitfield on £3,551.91 and Meghan Gallacher, the Conservative MSP for Central Scotland, on £4,301.25.

MSPs are able to claim expenses on accommodation, staff costs, office costs, travel, communicating and engaging with constituents, and costs to close their offices.

They are not allowed to claim for activities that are party political, such as attending a party meeting, or have an arrangement that benefits a person or party-political organisation.

As of April 2024, MSPs can claim up to £21,100 on office costs, £17,400 on engagement, £156,900 on staff costs, £20,700 on Edinburgh accommodation and £225 on hotels in Edinburgh per night, including dinner, bed and breakfast.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: “The members’ expenses scheme contains provision to support members in carrying out their parliamentary duties.

“This includes the reimbursement of the cost of overnight accommodation when an MSP is required to stay in Edinburgh in connection with these duties.”