Thatcher claims £535,000 state allowance over five years
Taxpayer-funded largesse was meant to cover cost of public duties
London: Lady Thatcher has claimed more than half a million pounds (Dh2.94 million) from a taxpayer-funded allowance for former British prime ministers, official figures reveal.
Thatcher heads a list of former prime ministers who have claimed £1.7 million in the past five years from the public duties cost allowance, set up to cover office and secretarial costs incurred for public duties.
Figures revealed by the Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, in response to a written parliamentary question by the Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, show that Thatcher has received £535,000 from the state since 2006, and John Major, who set up the allowance in 1991, has received £490,000. Tony Blair has claimed since 2007 and received £273,000. The figures reveal he received £169,076 in 2008-9, more than his salary in office.
The public duties cost allowance is administered by the Cabinet Office and claims must be supported by documentary evidence. Thatcher, who has suffered ill health which limits her engagements, still attends some public events, including an address by the Pope in the UK. According to figures released last year the maximum allowance claimable doubled from £47,568 in 1997-98 to £100,205 in 2008-9. Defending the allowance's value for money, Maude said: "The public duties cost allowance is kept under review."
Figures released by the Cabinet Office also suggested bonuses for civil servants have risen over the last year. Government departments paid civil servants £140 million in bonuses between 2010 and 2011 £4 million more than in the previous year.
Halt pledged
Days after becoming prime minister last year, David Cameron pledged to halt the bonus culture among civil servants. "Last week the Cabinet and I agreed to take a 5 per cent pay cut. Now we need senior civil servants to join us in showing leadership as we reduce the deficit," he said.
The most generous departments were the Ministry of Defence, with £45 million in bonuses for its civil servants, and the Department for Work and Pensions, which paid out £40 million.
The Cabinet Office said it had cut the number of civil servants eligible for bonuses to the top 25 per cent of performers and had saved £15 million in six months.
