CUNNINGHAME North MSP Kenny Gibson claimed more than £37,400 in expenses in the last year.

The SNP member once again topped the expenses list for the area’s MSPs. With costs for rent, council tax, mobile phone bills, parking and mileage making up a large chunk of the claims, Mr Gibson also claimed more than £1,400 for postage. With Arran and Cumbrae being included in the constituency of the MSP, there is also a number of claims for ferry trips and for overnight stays on the islands. Amongst the miscellaneous items claimed by the MSP is £11 for an iPhone charger, £14.98 on a dictaphone, £1.50 on bleach, £2 on bin bags and £37.97 on toilet roll.

Mr Gibson said: “In the Scottish Parliament our allowances for staff, rent and utilities and our travel and accommodation expenses are audited every three months to ensure they are appropriately spent.

“No doubt that is why we avoided the expenses fiasco that impacted on the UK Parliament in 2010.” Cunninghame South MSP Margaret Burgess and her West Region counterpart Margaret McDougall both claimed less in expenses than last year.

The SNP’s Mrs Burgess claimed back £26,624.76, down from £29,291.66 in 2013-14, while Labour’s Mrs McDougall turned in a claim for £20,188.48 compared with £24,582.11 the previous year. The bulk of their expenses came from utilities and rental expenditure. The Labour MSP claimed a total of £6,962 on hotel accommodation, including two night and three night stays costing £290 and £345 respectively, as well as £650.85 for hotel evening meals. Mrs McDougall also claimed £104.05 for a return ferry ticket from Ardrossan to Arran.

Claims were also made for £5,400 in office rent, £174.71 in taxi fares, £136.30 for newspaper subscriptions, mailing costs totalling £193.83 and £1,653 in utilities.

In addition, Mrs McDougall claimed back 43p for a stamp as well as £31.87 and £32.05 for two 750g tins of Nescafe coffee as part of business meeting expenses. But the politician, who like Mrs Burgess is standing down at next year’s Holyrood election, produced a cheaper phone bill than her SNP rival. Mrs Burgess claimed a phone bill of £75 in comparison to Mrs McDougall’s £66.

Rent for the Cunninghame South politician’s Edinburgh accommodation came in at £8,100, £8,750 was claimed in office rent with £2,914 in utilities. Mrs Burgess also claimed back £1,038 for her office window cleaning, £927 for hall hires, £22 for key cutting and a £39.99 claim for an iPad case.

A spokesman for Mrs Burgess said: “Margaret Burgess claims the expense of accommodation in Edinburgh as she is required to be there three days a week.

“Renting is much cheaper than three nights a week in a hotel.

“Other claims are the running costs of the constituency office including rent and utilities. Margaret does not make any claim for mileage or for any other expenditure while carrying out constituency duties.”

Commenting on her expenses, Margaret McDougall MSP said: “The Scottish Parliament expenses system is open and transparent and a full breakdown of my expenses is available on the website.

“As a Regional MSP I have a larger area to cover and no ministerial car, however, I’m pleased that I have managed to reduce running costs this year while many other MSPs saw an increase.

“Regarding the Ardrossan to Arran ferry ticket, I was hosting a surgery on Arran that day, in addition to this I also meet with members of local community groups and organisations.

“I decided the return ticket would be better value for money than an overnight stay.”

Meanwhile, the deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, and List MSP for the West of Scotland, Jackson Carlaw, claimed just over £18,000 in the last financial year. The majority of claims from Mr Carlaw have came from rent and travel claims but he has also claimed over £1,200 on newspaper subscriptions, which includes weekly issues of almost all of the Clyde and Forth Press titles, spreading from North Ayrshire to Helensburgh.

The Tory MSP also claimed £173 for an overnight stay in a hotel in London and £5.24 for postage stamps. With total claims coming in at £18,148.18, Mr Carlaw has one of the lower claims from Members of the Scottish Parliament. Jackson Carlaw said: “I believe local newspapers are essential and looking closely at what they have to report and say across the West of Scotland is important to me as a Regional Member.”