Focus on China It is free of income tax. A peerage for Jo Johnson, the Prime Minister’s brother has prompted automatic indignation. The cost of expenses and the payment of daily parliamentary attendance allowances in the House of Lords rose by some 29 per cent in the 12 months to March 2019, reaching £23 million. Four staff networks for people to discuss and consider issues. Already have an account with TheArticle? Lord Paul said there was no requirement in the rules for lords to participate in order to claim allowances. The spokesman said: 'The increase in the costs of House of Lords allowances in the 2018/19 financial year is largely due to a 25 per cent increase in the number of days that the House sat, rising from 129 in 2017/18 to 161 in 2018/19. During July, Lord Hanningfield did not speak in any debates or attend any committee hearings. Eighty-eight of their number never spoke. Last Tuesday I was in from about 10am to 10pm but because I did not go into the chamber - I was in six different meetings and by the time I went down to the chamber the House had risen - I got nothing for that day.". Market in London is PACKED with little social distancing or a mask in sight as visitors help... Official data is 'exaggerating' the risk of Covid and talk of a second wave is 'misleading', 500 academics... PETER HITCHENS: I will never forgive the clowns who cancelled Remembrance Sunday. Some choose to take a lower payment for attendance – currently £162 – or nothing at all. "During July I was preparing myself for what I'm doing now and during this term I've been speaking and asking questions. Fox’s chief tormentor is David Aaronovitch, a journalist on the Times. Figure 2: House of Lords membership and attendance from 1992 to 2016. Sometimes it works the other way around. Giles MacDonogh TWENTY-TWO new peers have joined the House of Lords this year at an estimated cost of £1.8million – despite a Government pledge to slash numbers. Biden plans for office as Trump contests result, 'I'm not sure how we're going to survive' Video, 'I'm not sure how we're going to survive', Five new faces making US political history. Critics have been questioning many aspects of how Britain’s second chamber operates, including the expenses arrangements. There was certainly an anti-establishment feel to it, though the former Chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond were both included. “I do not consider myself an expert on the intricacies of EU withdrawal,” he said. But attendance data alone can be misleading because some peers rarely or never participate in parliamentary business despite attending frequently. 'The number of sittings days was lower in 2017/18 than usual due to the General Election.'. 471. Thirty-three “inactive peers” — those who did not utter a word in committee or the chamber and did not even submit a single written question — picked up £462,510. Quiz of the week: What did Trump's campaign call Lady Gaga? But parliamentary authorities defended the payments as they insisted they had risen because peers had been asked to work more days than the previous year. He said he spent half of the £300 daily fee on expenses and so did not really make any profit. This again means the actual figures will be higher than those reflected here. Video, US election: Being with Trump the day he lost, US election result: What Biden's victory means for rest of world, Japan prince Fumihito declared heir to throne, Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan 'takes key town' in Armenia conflict, US election 2020: How the world reacted to a Biden win, Kamala Harris: The many identities of the first woman vice-president, US Election 2020: Time for US to unite, President-elect Biden says, Thailand protests: Police deploy water cannon in Bangkok.