A BIG fall in allowances claimed by the region's MPs – to just £101,745 over four months – shows they are being "careful" now, the expenses chief claimed last night.
The total, which works out at an average of £4,239 for each MP, follows the dramatic crackdown on the lavish Westminster expenses system, in the wake of last year's scandal.
The highest bill in Merseyside was run up by Esther McVey (Con; Wirral West), who received £13,860.15, a total pipped by the £14,240.78 claimed by another new MP, Graham Evans (Con; Weaver Vale).
At the other end of the scale, Joe Benton (Lab; Bootle) and Rosie Cooper (Lab; West Lancashire) were among 78 MPs – including deputy prime minister Nick Clegg – who claimed nothing at all.
Ms McVey's expenses included bills for office desks, chairs and filing cabinet (£622.37), a subscription to the Parliamentary resources unit, a research organisation (£3,877.50), a computer database (£1,762.50) and stationery (£388.93).
The next highest claiming MP was Stephen Mosley (Con; City of Chester – £10,177.58), followed by Andrew Miller (Lab; Ellesmere Port and Neston – £8,740.32) and Derek Twigg (Lab; Halton - £7,142.29)
Other low claims were submitted by Luciana Berger (Lab; Liverpool Wavertree – £256.64), Chancellor George Osborne (Con; Tatton – £582.62), David Mowat (Con; Warrington South – £739) and George Howarth (Lab; Knowsley – £970.90).
Across the country, the amount paid out to MPs plummeted to £3.1m in the period after the May general election – compared with a £96m bill for the whole of last year.
Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), said: "It's our assessment that MPs are being thoughtful and careful in the use of the system."
However, the release of 22,000 claims paid out between May and August was accompanied by fresh criticism of secrecy and incompetence levelled at under-fire IPSA.
No receipts were made available, after IPSA claimed it would cost £1m to produce them, and the quango's website crashed through most of the day.
The body – whose nickname is Inept, Pointless, Stumbling Amateurs – then refused to release totals for different categories of claims, such as accommodation and travel, despite receiving £6m of taxpayers' money.
Sir Ian also faced criticism after refusing to release the names of MPs who submitted 1,574 rejected claims, totalling £116,000. They were mainly for office bills and travel costs.
He argued: "Where we've queried a claim, or haven't paid it, it's been the result of a misunderstanding or innocent error. The system was bedding down and people were getting used to it."
The figures showed that David Cameron claimed £2,581.13 in total, while his opposite number, Labour leader Ed Miliband, received £2,066.
