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Over the past month or so a lot has been said about what MEPs get paid, whether we employ relatives and the roles of our staff.
This section of my website sheds some light on how my office is run, and how my accounts are audited.
EMPLOYEES:
I DO NOT employ family members as employees, service providers or paying agents in any capacity.
I have two members of staff in my Brussels office:
Stephen O'Donnell - Political Advisor
Emma Gillan - Assistant
I have two staff members in my Inverkeithing constituency office:
Yvonne Thorpe - Office Manager
Fiona Fairley - Press and Campaigns Officer
I employ Stuart Clark as a Political and Organisational Assistant, who is contracted for 8 hours a week on a flexible basis.
I also temporarily employ Sarah Thoms as my casework in my constituency office and Emma Paton as a temporary Political Researcher.
All Labour MEPs currently contribute towards the salary of a Joint Members Assistant (JMA).
You cand download the EPLP Staffing Guildelines here: 
PAYING AGENTS & AUDITORS:
My paying agents and auditors are French Duncan, one of Scotland’s largest independent firms of Chartered Accountants, with 22 partners and over 170 staff across their five Scottish offices. They ensure that all the money I have allotted to me for my staff is spent correctly, redundancy is budgeted for, and national insurance, pensions and tax are paid according to parliament's rules.
French Duncan also ensures that my office expenditure is fully accounted for:
Up to date Auditors Certificate. Please feel free to download it.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS:
Every December I am expected to complete a “declaration of financial interests” which is then posted on the European Parliaments website.
I am required to declare anything that has a financial value of more than 100euro (around £70).
You can download my most up to date declaration of financial interests here:
TRANSPARENCY DOCUMENTS:
Labour Members of the European Parliament are committed to the highest standards of propriety. To view my transparency documents, please follow the link to the European Parliamentary Labour Party website. These documents provide a breakdown of our expenses.
http://www.eurolabour.org.uk/Transparency
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Transparency and Staff
