Debates at Westminster back in May on the Finance Bill that will enact the measures contained in the Budget and remaining stages of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill were overshadowed by the media furore over MPs’ expenses and the settlement rights of the Ghurkas.

Daily revelations about particular Ministers and MPs have brought public trust in the integrity of politicians to an all-time low. This has seriously weakened the health of our democracy in our country.

I truly believe our political system is one of the least corrupt in the world. The vast majority of MPs from all political parties are honest, hard-working individuals who do their best to serve the people they represent in Parliament. Misleading figures have been bandied around in the Press, leading the public to believe that MPs pocket more than £150,000 a year in expenses. Nothing could be further from the truth. About £100,000 is paid direct by the House of Commons to MPs’ staff, a maximum of £22,000 is allowed for the running costs of constituency offices, up to £10,000 for communications, plus reimbursement for travel between a Member’s constituency and Westminster.

Concerns have been expressed about MPs who employ spouses and other family members and those who receive considerable remuneration for activities outside Parliament but public anger in recent days has centred on the so-called ‘Second Homes’ allowance. MPs are expected to spend time working both in Parliament and in their constituency. To support this they are allowed to claim for expenditure on accommodation when working away from their main home, up to a current maximum of £24,222 a year. The current system was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s. Since then MPs have been able legitimately to designate one property as a "main home" and the other as a "second home".

My understanding of the rules has always been that my "main home" is my house in Chester, where I have lived for the past 25 years, and my "second home" has always been rented accommodation in London. So I have no financial gain, at taxpayers’ expense, from buying and selling property. A number of proposals have been put forward to address the "second homes" issue. One suggestion is to give all MPs the same fixed monthly accommodation allowance. A similar system is operated by the French and German Parliaments but it would advantage the MPs who already own a property in London. A second idea is for Parliament to buy a block of flats in central London to house MPs. The drawback here is that the initial acquisition costs and security would be extremely expensive and this arrangement would penalise those MPs who wish to retain a semblance of family life and have their children with them in London. The House of Commons was due to publish the details of MPs’ expenses for the past five years in July after MPs had had the opportunity to check the accuracy of the information on file. The plans have now been pre-empted by the `leaking’ of data (for a hefty fee, no doubt?) to the Daily Telegraph.

Whilst I certainly do not condone the actions of any MP who has abused the allowances system, I find it quite invidious that individual MPs have been found guilty without any chance of proving their innocence and all MPs and their staff now face the risk of identity fraud as the leaked information will have contained details of personal bank and credit card accounts. In order to restore public confidence in our elected representatives it is vital that Parliament accepts in full the recommendations of Sir Christopher Kelly’s independent review of MPs’ expenses that should be completed by the end of the summer.

The other drama of that week in May was the debate about the settlement rights of Ghurkas. There has been a long tradition for young men from Nepal to sign up to join the British Army. Before 1997 the Brigade of Ghurkas was based in Hong Kong. Following the handover of Hong Kong to China, the regimental base was moved to the UK which putthe Brigade on the same footing as Commonwealth soldiers. In 2004 the Government gave the automatic right of settlement in the UK to Gurkha soldiers discharged after July 1, 1997, provided they had served for four years and applied within two years of their discharge.

The campaign led by Joanna Lumley seeks full settlement rights for all veteran Gurkhas and their families who retired before 1997. The Government has now agreed to review the guidelines and reconsider the applications for settlement from about 1,350 former Gurkhas. Everyone acknowledges the bravery and commitment shown by Ghurkha soldiers - only this week a young Gurkha serving with the British Army was killed in Afghanistan. The nub of the dilemma faced by the Government is that if it accepts the right of all veteran Gurkhas to settle in the UK a legal precedent will be set, and the same rights may have to be extended to all those brave men and women from countries around the world who served in the British Armed Forces before 1997.

My Westminster diary has been overflowing with significant events in recent weeks. A large group of members from Chester Civic Trust came to Westminster to find out how Parliament works. The programme included a guided tour, a question and answer session with Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and an opportunity to watch Questions to the Children’s Department ministerial team from the public gallery. Together with Lord David Steel, I co-hosted a welcome lunch for the newly-elected President of Ghana, His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta Mills. The lunch was also attended by the Chairman and Chief Executive of Cadbury’s. Cadbury’s helped to develop cocoa growing in Ghana, and now source most of their cocoa beans from the country.Retailing is at the heart of Chester’s economy, and one of my key roles in Parliament is to chair the All-Party Retail Group. The purpose of the Group is to raise the profile of retail in the wider political forum by providing information about, and communicating the policy position of, the retail sector. Across the country around three million people, or one in nine of the working population, work in the retail sector. Obviously in Chester this figure will be much higher. Last week the British Retail Consortium held their Annual Parliamentary Reception. The key speakers at the reception were Yvette Cooper MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Luke Mayhew, the former Managing Director of the John Lewis Partnership, only two days into his new post as Chairman of the British Retail
Consortium. The arrival of a new US President in the White House and a new Government in Israel, plus the visit of His Holiness the Pope to the Holy Land, may herald a new beginning for the stalled Middle East peace process. Together with a group of parliamentary colleagues who recently visited war-torn Gaza and the West Bank, I had a meeting with the Prime Minister to urge him to put more robust pressure on the Israelis to stop illegal settlement building, stop land seizures of Palestinian land and house demolitions, and lift the blockade of Gaza that is preventing essential humanitarian aid from reaching the Gazan people.

Using tips to make up staff pay to minimum wage levels will be outlawed from October. The announcement by Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden is aimed at giving workers fair wages, ensuring a fair and level playing field for employers and, importantly, boosting consumer confidence in the use of tips. The Government will also be working towards greater transparency and clarity for consumers through a new industry code of best practice.
Consultations showed wide support for these loophole closure changes.