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		MEPs' Allowances and Transparency As an MEP, I receive a salary of €84,000. For my first ten years in the parliament, I received the same salary as a Westminster MP, but from July 2009 we switched to a common "Members' Statute" under which MEPs from all member-states are paid the same. The Sterling value of my salary varies with the exchange rate, but is currently slightly higher than a Westminster MP's salary. My U.K. staff consist of a diary secretary and press officer, both of which I employ cooperatively with fellow East Midlands MEP Emma McClarkin. Their salary is administered on a fee basis by the accountancy firm Simpsons of Lutterworth, Leics. Simpsons is registered with the European Parliament as a certified paying agent. They prepare reports on expenditure which are submitted, in line with parliamentary rules, to the parliament's administration. Brussels staff includes two full-time research assistants which are paid directly by the European Parliament, including all approved expenses they incur such as monthly travel to and from Strasbourg. . The only relative I employ is my wife. She handles special projects for me, mostly of a rural/countryside nature, and liaises with local interest groups, including those engaged in opposing the inappropriate sitting of wind farms in the region. Why use a family member for this work? There are clear benefits in doing so. She is competent; she is contactable at all hours. She knows the region and the people, and is familiar with my views on the issues. During my first term 1999/2004 I employed my wife as part-time UK diary secretary. She was remunerated on an arm's length basis, not on preferential terms. Currently she is responsible for handling my extensive travel arrangements, not the least of which include a weekly flight between Brussels and the East Midlands. The British Conservative delegation in the European Parliament has decided, as a matter of policy, that where family members are employed, or act as a paying agent, their salary or other remuneration should be published within bands of £10,000. In line with this policy I can state that my wife's annual salary falls between £10,000 and £20,000. In addition to staff allowances, I am entitled to a range of other expenses to support my work as a parliamentarian. These allowances are drawn, and dispersed, precisely in line with parliamentary rules.