Royal family cost taxpayers £37m-a-year

The latest figures on expenditure from Buckingham Palace has revealed that the taxpayer contributes £36.7 million to the running of the British monarchy.

A decease, in real terms, this is equivalent to around 61 pence-per-person each year, as Buckingham Palace announced the publication of its annual report of Royal finances.

The annual Royal Public Finances report, which includes details of public expenditure on property and travel, states that Head of State expenditure for 2004-05 at £36.7 million is 0.3% lower than in the previous year, which represents a decrease of 2.3% in real terms.

Keeper of the Privy Purse, Alan Reid, said: "The annual cost per person in the Country, in funding the Head of State, amounts to 61 pence. This is the annual cost, not the daily, weekly or monthly cost. We are pleased that the total cost of the Monarchy is lower than it was in 2001.

"The further reduction in the amount of Head of State expenditure reflects the continuous attention the Royal Household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure.

"Savings in areas such as insurance and business rates have helped to offset increases in employment costs, where the Royal Household continues to invest in its people by ensuring its employees are paid in line with market rates for comparable jobs," Mr Reid added.

The Palace revealed that one of the main savings was in the form of a rate rebate for Buckingham Palace. The Queen succeeded in winning an appeal for a £1 million refund from Westminster City Council claiming that the Palace should not be rated as a business premise.

However, this was offset by increases in several other areas, in particular more inward Visits by foreign Heads of State, major overseas tours and ceremonial costs.

Commenting on the expenditure by the Royals, Labour MP Ian Davidson said that the royal train should be taken out of service.

The train, which was used 19 times in the last year, reportedly cost £45,000 when used by Prince Charles on one trip from Scotland to England.

The use of expensive charter flights was defended as some flights had to be chartered to attend state funerals before Royals continued with other engagements, however the travel bill for Royal parties had risen from £4.7 million to £5 million last year.

The expenditure figures exclude the costs of security and of ceremonial duties provided by the Armed Services.

(SP/KMcA)