MEMBERS of the House of Lords paid themselves almost one third more last year, an investigation has revealed.
Peers’ expenses and daily attendance allowance soared 29 per cent to £23million in the year to last March.
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The spending scandal comes just as the Lords is set to swell to its largest in two decades.
One peer, former Labour minister Lord Cunningham, 80, claimed £79,437 last year.
He was not on any committees, despite checking in for his allowance on 159 of a possible 161 days.
Another, Lord Paul, claimed £47,885 in expenses, despite his family having a £2billion fortune.
Sunday Times analysis showed the average tax-free payment was £30,827, higher than the median salary of a UK worker.
More than 110 peers did not make any spoken or written contribution to the House during the period, but claimed a combined total of more than £1million.
Millionaire Lord Bhatia, who has previously been suspended over his expenses, claimed £44,530 but didn’t sit on a committee or address the House.
Earlier this month, peers voted to give themselves an above-inflation pay rise of 3.1 per cent, taking their daily payment for attending to £323.
An internal report this month warned expenses were still “vulnerable” to being “exploited”.
Willie Sullivan, of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “The Lords is a rolling expenses scandal.”
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