Peers in the House of Lords will be allowed to claim a £162 “attendance allowance” for making remote tributes to Prince Philip over video call, it has been revealed.
Members of the upper house convened yesterday for a marathon session of tributes to the late Duke, who passed away aged 99 last week.
Usual parliamentary business was cancelled in both houses, with scrutiny on hate crimes, civil liberties, and fertility treatments making way for time to praise the Royal.
According to the Commons schedule MPs spent seven and a half hours paying tribute to the Prince – two and half hours more than was allocated to discussing Boris Johnson’s final Brexit trade deal in December.
In the Lords, Peers discussed a “humble address” moved by Tory peer Baroness Evans, the leader of the Lords, which reads: “Most Gracious Sovereign, We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to convey to Your Majesty the heartfelt sympathy of this House on the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.”
The tributes began at 1pm and continued well into the evening, in tandem with a similar session of tributes in the House of Commons lasting seven and a half hours from 2.30pm until 10pm.
But despite this, peers will still be offered their usual £323 attendance allowance if they attend the chamber if person to make a tribute, and £162 if they speak remotely via video link.
A House of Lords spokesperson said: “The sitting of the House for tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh on Monday 12 April constitutes Parliamentary business and so Members are allowed to claim daily attendance allowance if they qualify for it and wish to do so. Members may also choose not to claim.
“Under the current interim allowance scheme Members can claim the fully daily attendance allowance of £323, or the reduced rate of £162, if they physically attend parliament and undertake parliamentary duties. Alternatively they can claim the reduced rate of £162 if the speak remotely in the tributes.”
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