Spending Public Money
Compared to the ridiculous carry on at Westminster the Scottish Parliament has a well-deserved reputation for keeping the expenses of its elected members under control - by and large here are no comparable scandals involving MSPs with their noses in the public trough.
The one exception that proves this rule is a 'hangover' from an earlier stage in Holyrood's life whereby MSPs could claim a housing allowance - if the location of their home base meant that it was unreasonable or impossible for them to travel back and forth to Edinburgh every day.
But certain MSPs made a financial 'killing' out of their venture into the Edinburgh property market - some examples of which are shown in the following piece from the Sunay Herald.
Put simply, this is a terrible abuse of public money and there is no excuse for MSPs - of all parties - to state clearly that any 'profit' element arising from their buying and selling of property should be returned to where it belongs.
Which is of course the public purse - not the pockets of individual MSPs.
SNP minister aims to make £50,000 profit on taxpayer-funded flat
By Paul Hutcheon and Tom Gordon
An SNP Cabinet minister is trying to turn a £50,000 profit on a taxpayer-funded second home he bought using just £3000 of his own money.
Richard Lochhead stands to make a substantial profit after putting his Edinburgh property on the market
Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, who earns £100,000 a year, is hoping to cash in on the sale of a flat a few minutes' walk from Holyrood.
The Moray MSP bought the top-floor property on Lower London Road in July 2000 for £91,600 with an Abbey National mortgage for £88,486. That meant he only needed a deposit of £3114 (or 3.4% of the asking price).
He has since billed taxpayers more than £82,000, including £50,000 to cover mortgage interest payments, and more than £30,000 for council tax, bills, insurance and factoring.
The two-bedroom home is now on the market for offers around £145,000. If he secures this, Lochhead would make £53,400, less capital gains tax.
The potential profit is not the first big windfall for an MSP or ex-MSP. Former Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen, now a LibDem peer, made £110,000 on his second home in the capital last year, while Finance Secretary John Swinney made £75,000 on his property in 2011. Health Secretary Alex Neil made £105,500 in 2010, and Tory MSP Alex Fergusson, the former Presiding Officer, took a £12,000 profit by selling his flat last August.
The properties were funded by the Scottish Parliament's Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance (EAA), which paid for MSPs' stays in the capital. While most stayed in hotels or rented, many bought second homes, claimed the mortgage interest on expenses and then sold the property for a profit.
Following complaints about MSPs playing the property market, mortgage interest claims were stopped. Since May 2011, MSPs have only been able to claim rent or hotel costs.
Lochhead, 44, declined to comment. An SNP spokeswoman said the sale of his flat would be "in accordance with the independent review" of the allowances system which came into effect in May 2010".
