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'It's not right': Ministers to push for change in expenses rules after Labour MP charges taxpayers for 'pet rent'
30 March 2025, 11:25 | Updated: 30 March 2025, 11:39
Dan Jarvis speaks to LBC's Iain Dale about the 'pet rent' scandal
A minister has told LBC that the government will seek to change parliamentary expenses rules after an MP charged taxpayers for 'pet rent'.
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Dan Jarvis, the security minister, told LBC's Iain Dale that it wasn't "right" that Taiwo Owatemi claimed £900 in expenses to pay for her pet cockapoo to live with her.
He said that he would push for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) to "look very carefully" at the rules.
Mr Jarvis also said that it was important to note that Ms Owatemi, who also serves as Sir Keir Starmer's Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, had not done anything against the rules as they currently stand.
"I wouldn't do that - haven't done that," he said. "And... I don't think it can be right that the rules allow any member of Parliament to do that."
The expense form was submitted and approved just weeks after Labour won the 2024 General Election, according to the Sun.
The claim, exposed in a new bombshell document, shows that parliamentary authorities paid the ‘pet rent’, a surcharge understood to be imposed by her landlord.
Asked if Ms Owatemi's actions looked bad for Labour, Mr Jarvis said: "Yes, and that's why the government will be raising concerns about this particular rule.
"And we will pick that up with IPSA, because I completely understand the concern that's expressed about it. I don't think it's the right thing to do."
News of the claim comes not long after the government said they would be cutting benefits payouts to some claimants.
Disability campaigner Hannah Campbell, 41, who had to have her left leg amputated after she was caught in an explosion in the Iraq War, called the claim a "disgrace”.
Labour has separately sought to make it easier for renters to keep pets, which has often been an issue.
A Labour spokesperson said that some MPs need housing support, since they have to work in their constituency and in Westminster.
Owatemi, 32, regularly posts pictures of her with her dog Bella on social media, including Christmas cards with the cockapoo and snaps of them campaigning before the election.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “It’s surely enough for MPs to get the rent on a second home paid for without the need to pick up the tab for their furry friends as well.
“No one begrudges a politician wanting a pet, but they should pay for the cost themselves.”
A spokesman for the expenses watchdog IPSA added: “MPs are required to work in two places: their constituency and in Westminster.
“IPSA is committed to supporting a Parliament where people without the private finances to fund working from two locations themselves are not prevented from becoming an MP.
“That is why we fund accommodation costs, within strict limits. It is common for landlords to include additional surcharges in rental agreements."
