Downing Street Says » Deputy Prime Minister’s Council Tax

Asked if No10 was signed off to John Prescott’s statement, the PMOS said that this had arisen from a misunderstanding dating back to 1997. The Deputy Prime Minister along with the Commons Fees Office had regarded Admiralty House as his primary residence. The Deputy Prime Minister believed he was paying council tax out of the 10% of his salary taken for benefits in kind for Admiralty House. The department, on the other hand, had continued the practice of the previous occupant of regarding it as his secondary home and they had paid the council tax at the rate appropriate for a secondary home. The Deputy Prime Minister having realised this misunderstanding now had paid the council tax owing in full dating back to 1997. He had set out the case in his written statement.

Asked if there were any other members of the Cabinet who were similarly confused, the PMOS said he was not aware of any. This was a misunderstanding and the Deputy Prime Minister believed that he had been paying council tax from the 10% that came out of his salary and because it was one of those routine rollover matters the misunderstanding had continued between the Deputy Prime Minister and the department until it was brought to the Deputy Prime Minister’s attention. A classic case of the left hand not understanding what the right hand was up to. Asked to explain the 10% of salary, the PMOS said that whenever a minister moved into a grace and favour residence the rule was that you paid 10% of your ministerial salary toward the cost of utilities, services etc and John Prescott had believed that had included the council tax. Now that he had realised it had not he had paid it in full.

Asked what happened to ex-ministers and whether it was docked from their MP’s salary the PMOS said journalists should speak to the Cabinet Office for that sort of detail. Asked if the Prime Minister had paid all his council tax, the PMOS said that he had. Asked how it had come to light, the PMOS said that the matter was drawn to the Deputy Prime Minister’s attention in a public way and he discovered the misunderstanding because he had believed what was being asserted was wrong. Asked to characterise the Deputy Prime Minister’s mood, the PMOS said John Prescott had apologised for mistake and his mood was as people would expect it to be in such circumstances.

Asked how this affected Dorneywood, the PMOS said that it did not affect it. It was a trust and not his primary residence. The confusion had arisen because of a misunderstanding because the department had believed Admiralty House was his second residence and he and the fees office had believed it was his primary home. Asked if this meant he would be reclaiming council tax on other properties, the PMOS said it had not affected the way he paid council tax elsewhere.

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» Thursday, January 12, 2006

Deputy Prime Minister’s Council Tax

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