148 MPs claiming expenses to cover cost of having children

Some have pocketed more than £10,000 extra to rent larger homes and cover the cost of youngsters' travel

Almost 150 MPs have been given permission to claim expenses for having children.

Some have pocketed more than £10,000 extra to rent larger homes and cover the cost of youngsters' travel, it was revealed last night.

Since 2010, MPs have claimed almost £140,000 for kids' travel.

At least nine ministers are among those who have taken signed up to the scheme.

Under freedom of information laws, parliamentary standards watchdogs Ipsa disclosed that a total of 148 MPs, with 300 children between them, have formally registered.

Members of the Government including George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Maria Miller are all registered, as are Labour leader Ed Miliband, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and his wife, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Accommodation allowance rules were relaxed following claims from MPs that their family lives were being undermined by the crackdown on expense.

Ipsa allows MPs to increase the maximum allowance they can claim by £2,425 for each child they say lives with them.

Matthew Sinclair, of pressure group The TaxPayers' Alliance said: "Expenses are there to cover extra costs, not subsidise luxury apartments at taxpayers' expense."

Meanwhile it has emerged that Commons Speaker John Bercow has spent nearly £100,000 on travel in the last three years.

He has billed the public for trips to have his portrait painted.

And he even claimed almost £90 for taking just a one-mile trip to the MPs' expenses watchdog in London.

His travel and accommodation came to more than £96,000 in all with £63,000 going on flights for him and aides and £16,000 on chauffeur-driven car journeys.

Tory MP Rob Wilson said: "In such difficult economic times this looks quite extravagant."

But a Commons spokesman said: "These travel costs for the Speaker and officials include a significant amount of outreach activity."

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