Budget 2010: Queen's spending under scrutiny as Royal Household books opened

The Queen’s spending will be subjected to greater public scrutiny than ever before after the Chancellor announced the Royal Household would have to open its books to the National Audit Office.

The Queen's spending is to come under greater scrutiny following the emergency Budget.Photo: PA

Taxpayers will be given far more detail on how much of the annual Civil List payment of £7.9 million is spent on staff wages, travel and entertainment. The NAO’s involvement means MPs will be able to summon Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, to justify to Parliament’s public accounts committee the money spent on anything from train tickets to bottles of wine.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It will be up to the National Audit Office to decide exactly what level of detail to go into. If they decide the Royal Household has to publish details of how much it has spent on every pencil and paper clip, that’s what will happen.”

The Queen has agreed to keep the Civil List payment frozen for another year, despite reports that she had asked for an increased payment, which has not gone up since 1990.

In real terms, the payment is worth only a quarter of its 1990 value, and the Royal Household is expected to spend £14.9 million next year to enable the Queen to carry out her official duties. The £7 million shortfall will be made up out of a reserve fund which the Royal Household has built up over decades.

An ICM poll commissioned by the anti-monarchist group Republic showed 56 per cent of people opposed an increase in the Civil List, with just 28 per cent in favour of a rise.

George Osborne’s move to open the Royal accounts to NAO scrutiny brings the Queen into line with government departments, which are also answerable to the public accounts committee.

Ian Davidson, a Labour MP who has served on the committee and has called for greater transparency of Royal finances, said: “The PAC has been calling for this for some considerable time and we very much welcome further access, but it remains to be seen whether we will be given access to other accounts, such as those of the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, to build up a complete picture.”

Mr Osborne said a new means of support for the Queen would be proposed at a later date.

About 70 per cent of the Civil List money is used to pay the salaries of the Royal Household’s 1,200 staff. The money is also used to help pay for official functions such as garden parties, receptions and state dinners.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are the only members of the Royal family who receive an annual parliamentary allowance. Allowances paid to other Royals, including the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal, are repaid by the Queen. The Prince of Wales meets his own costs through his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Graham Smith, the campaign manager of Republic, said: “We believe a much greater level of transparency will be very embarrassing for the monarchy as it will reveal a lot of spending of public money that is clearly inappropriate.”