Liz Truss could claim up to £115,000 a year for the rest of her life through an allowance funded by the taxpayer. Despite her resignation announcement on Thursday making her the shortest-serving British prime minister in history, she is still eligible to claim from the six-figure allowance pot.
It is called the Public Duty Cost Allowance (PDCA) and is worth up to £115,000 a year. As set out on the Cabinet Office website, the PDCA was introduced to assist former prime ministers still active in public life, reports the Mirror.
Former PMs do not have to claim the money but can effectively file for expenses when carrying out jobs or expenditure related to their former position. The allowance was introduced in 1991 following the resignation of Margaret Thatcher.
John Major, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May have claimed the PDCA. Major and Blair both claimed back the maximum available allowance while Brown claimed just under, at £114,712. David Cameron claimed £113,423 in 2020-21 and slightly less, at £111,457, in 2019-20.
In 2020-21, Theresa May claimed £55,381, with £11,500 filed for the preceding year. And when asked in September if Boris Johnson would receive the allowance, his spokesman said: “I believe so. It certainly will be available to him.”
Former PMs can also claim for staff pension costs out of the pot, with more than £55,000 expensed against for such expenditure in 2020-21.
