Jeremy Hunt claimed 27p in expenses for half-mile car journey, new figures show

Hunt made two claims of 27p for short journeys made in his consituency last year

Jeremy Hunt leaves his office in a taxi in April 2012 (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt claimed 27p in expenses for a 900-metre car journey, it has been revealed.

Hunt, one of the richest members of the cabinet, made claims of 27p for two 0.6-mile trips taken in his South West Surrey consituency on 11 December last year, newly-released data reveals.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd, who is responsible for making Britain more environmentally friendly, claimed the same amount for a short trip in her Sussex consituency on 13 November, the figures show.

Neither of these were the smallest expenses claims made in the last year, however. That was made by Conservative MP Julian Smith, who claimed 9p of taxpayers' money for a journey of just over 300 metres in Skipton on 18 September, the Daily Mail reported.

The figures come from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which has just released details of MPs' expenses from the last financial year.

IPSA is an independent body which monitors expense claims by MPs, and was set up in the wake of the notorious 2009 expenses scandal.

Jeremy Hunt is currently at the centre of a row over a new contract for junior doctors, which would see them working more at weekends and during 'unsociable hours'.

One of the Government's main reasons for trying to impose the new contract is that people who are admitted to hospital at weekends have a greater risk of dying.

However, this claim was contradicted by a recent study published in the Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, which said the mortality rate only appears higher because fewer people are admitted.

The study's lead author Rachel Meacock said: "About the same number of people die [at weekends], but it's just that you are dividing that by a lower number [of admissions]."

"It's a simple fraction issue. It's really obvious."