Here's a thought, all ideas for improvement welcome:
An Act to Confirm the Honesty of the Members of the House of Commons
Section 1:
(1) All property real and personal paid for by the Second Homes Allowance is and always has been owned by the Crown save to the extent, if any, to which any Member of the House of Commons has contributed to the purchase price.
(2) Any payment of interest on any loan taken out for the purpose of the acquisition of real property and secured on that real property shall be treated as contributions towards the purchase price of that property for the purposes of sub-section 1 of this Section.
Section 2:
(1) Upon a Member of the House of Commons ceasing to hold that position (whether by death, failure to secure re-election or in any other way):
(a) all personal property paid for, in whole or in part, by the Second Homes Allowance shall within 7 days of the Member ceasing to be a Member be surrendered physically to the Crown, and
(b) all real property paid for, in whole or in part, by the Second Homes Allowance shall within 21 days of the Member ceasing to be a Member be sold at public auction.
(2) The Member shall, on ceasing to be a Member, have the right within the periods specified under sub-section (1) of this Section to purchase all or any of the real or personal property purchased in whole or in part through his Second Home Allowance.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt the power contained in subsection (2) of this Section may be exercised by the personal representative of any Member whose demise causes sub-section (1) of this Section to operate or the personal representative of any Member who dies within the periods set out in sub-section (1) of this Section.
(4) In the event of a Member or the personal representative of a Member exercising the power contained the sub-section (2) of this Section, the price to be paid by him shall be determined by agreement between the Member or the personal representative of the Member, as the case may be, and such person as shall be nominated for that purpose by the Comptroller and Auditor General. In default of such agreement the real or personal property in issue shall be dealt with in accordance with sub-section (1) of this Section. Upon the Comptroller and Auditor certifying that additional time for negotiation is required the Speaker for the time being of the House of Commons may, at his absolute discretion, allow up to a further 28 days for agreement to be reached and sale to be completed.
(5) The price payable by any Member or personal representative of a Member in exercise of the power contained in sub-section (2) of this Section shall take into account such contribution, if any, made by the Member towards the purchase price.
Section 3:
(1) This Act shall apply to all Members of the House of Commons on the commencement date and shall apply to all real and personal property, whenever acquired, paid for through the Second Homes Allowance of all such Members whether such payment or any part thereof occurred before or after the commencement date.
(2) This Act is intended to ensure that the Second Homes Allowance does not allow Members to make a profit but to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses and it must be construed to meet that intention.
Schedule
Commencement : as soon as possible.
An Act to Confirm the Honesty of the Members of the House of Commons
Section 1:
(1) All property real and personal paid for by the Second Homes Allowance is and always has been owned by the Crown save to the extent, if any, to which any Member of the House of Commons has contributed to the purchase price.
(2) Any payment of interest on any loan taken out for the purpose of the acquisition of real property and secured on that real property shall be treated as contributions towards the purchase price of that property for the purposes of sub-section 1 of this Section.
Section 2:
(1) Upon a Member of the House of Commons ceasing to hold that position (whether by death, failure to secure re-election or in any other way):
(a) all personal property paid for, in whole or in part, by the Second Homes Allowance shall within 7 days of the Member ceasing to be a Member be surrendered physically to the Crown, and
(b) all real property paid for, in whole or in part, by the Second Homes Allowance shall within 21 days of the Member ceasing to be a Member be sold at public auction.
(2) The Member shall, on ceasing to be a Member, have the right within the periods specified under sub-section (1) of this Section to purchase all or any of the real or personal property purchased in whole or in part through his Second Home Allowance.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt the power contained in subsection (2) of this Section may be exercised by the personal representative of any Member whose demise causes sub-section (1) of this Section to operate or the personal representative of any Member who dies within the periods set out in sub-section (1) of this Section.
(4) In the event of a Member or the personal representative of a Member exercising the power contained the sub-section (2) of this Section, the price to be paid by him shall be determined by agreement between the Member or the personal representative of the Member, as the case may be, and such person as shall be nominated for that purpose by the Comptroller and Auditor General. In default of such agreement the real or personal property in issue shall be dealt with in accordance with sub-section (1) of this Section. Upon the Comptroller and Auditor certifying that additional time for negotiation is required the Speaker for the time being of the House of Commons may, at his absolute discretion, allow up to a further 28 days for agreement to be reached and sale to be completed.
(5) The price payable by any Member or personal representative of a Member in exercise of the power contained in sub-section (2) of this Section shall take into account such contribution, if any, made by the Member towards the purchase price.
Section 3:
(1) This Act shall apply to all Members of the House of Commons on the commencement date and shall apply to all real and personal property, whenever acquired, paid for through the Second Homes Allowance of all such Members whether such payment or any part thereof occurred before or after the commencement date.
(2) This Act is intended to ensure that the Second Homes Allowance does not allow Members to make a profit but to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses and it must be construed to meet that intention.
Schedule
Commencement : as soon as possible.
Posts
4 comments:
Sounds good to me. A couple of points:
1. Re the right to buy; 21 days might not be long enough to secure a mortgage, especially if said member has just lost their seat and is looking for a job and doing the 1001 other things necessary in such circumstances.
2. What about income derived from property paid for by the second home allowance? Should the status of that income be made clear?
FB,
1 Selling at public auction within 21days sounds a bit fierce.
2 There will be many MPs who continue to be 'Members' long after they have lost their seat.
@james c Your point 2 just enlivened a very dull afternoon.
Not bad, but why bother going to such lengths? Why do they have to buy the homes? Why not rent? Why not just build a suitable "halls of residence" and allocate rooms to them and do away with the allowance altogether?
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