Labour peer to launch blistering attack on royals over £100m grant from taxpayers

A Labour peer will launch a blistering attack on the Royals this week as he calls for the King's public funding to be slashed. Former Cabinet member Lord George Foulkes will argue the public is not getting value for the £100million it is set to hand over next year. He told The Mirror he was incensed by the monarch's use of private jets and helicopters and questioned why the family needs so many homes while making public statements on homelessness. On Wednesday he will tell peers that the UK has by far the most expensive state-funded monarchy in Europe as he argues the Sovereign Grant is too high. The government's Sovereign Grant Bill - which sets the amount the royals receive - will get a second reading in the House of Lords on Wednesday. The former Scotland Secretary will tell peers: "When we ask the public to fund an institution to the tune of over just under £100 million a year through the Sovereign Grant, at a time when many are facing severe pressure on their household budgets, we have a duty to ask two fundamental questions - are we getting value for money, and do the actions of this institution match the values it preaches? "I would argue that the answer to both is no." Lord Foulkes will add: "While European neighbours have streamlined their royal houses, we continue to fund a sprawling network of 'working royals' whose ribbon-cutting duties would, in any other sector, face strict audit and productivity metrics." The grant is an annual payment to fund the monarch's official duties, such as overseas trips. The payment - based on profits from the Crown Estate - also covers the cost of palace maintenance and employing staff. King Charles will be given £99.9million by the Treasury in the next financial year. This is down from £137.9million because a decade-long, £369million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace is finished. But the sum is three times the £31million awarded when the Sovereign Grant was created by Tory austerity Chancellor George Osborne in 2012/13. Defending the rise, Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson last month said the royals are carrying out more engagements than under the final years of the late Queen. He said they must be adequately funded for their duties. Lord Foulkes told The Mirror: "They talk a lot about climate change, yet I've seen lots of criticism about the number of private jets and helicopter flights that they use for short journeys. "That's pretty hypocritical. Then the Prince of Wales has got a major campaign on homelessness, but they've got so many empty and underutilised properties all across the country. Why do they need so many houses? That's a rather embarrassing contrast." The peer will call for MPs to carry out a full review of royal financial arrangements - and for greater transparency. He will tell peers that Spain’s public grant to its royals is roughly £7million, Sweden’s under £15million, while the Netherlands sits around £45million. "In terms of value for money, our monarchy remains, by a vast margin, the most expensive state-funded royal family in Europe," he will say - suggesting the allocation should be halved. In July a YouGov poll found 68% of Brits believe King Charles is doing a good job. In the year to March 31, the royal annual financial report showed £5.1million was spent on travel, £33.7million on payroll and £3.5million on housekeeping and hospitality. Property maintenance totalled £67.5million. Nearly £127,000 was spent on travel for the King and Queen to make an official visit to Rome last April. Documents show £733,000 was spent on 177 helicopter flights over 12 months. And 60 charter flights cost £837,000 in that time. In September Mr Tomlinson told MPs: “The new level of the grant will ensure that the Royal Household can continue to deal with property maintenance backlogs following some years of constrained funding during the pandemic. “It will also allow the Royal Household to replace ageing systems to strengthen cybersecurity and to install energy-efficient heating systems.” He said the grant must make sure the royals are funded adequately for their duties, stating: “And it is worth pointing out, of course, that those activities have increased significantly in recent years. “Towards the end of her reign, the late Queen was not carrying out a large number of foreign engagements, and also was hosting a smaller number of state visits. “The King has increased the engagements that he is carrying out on our behalf as part of his public duties, and that has involved more expenditure in terms of staff costs and making sure that those engagements and the benefits that in terms of the representation of our country and supporting good causes here in the UK can get the funding and the support that they need.” The grant is set each year by the Royal Trustees - comprising the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, and the Keeper of the Privy Purse. Under a deal reached during the coalition Government, the grant is calculated based on the profit of the Crown Estate. In the past decade, over £5billion of profits from the Crown Estate have been paid to the Exchequer. Keeper of the Privy Purse, James Chalmers, said: “This is not a blank cheque. Expenditure is governed by the same standards and disciplines as any publicly funded body, with strict value-for money requirements, detailed planning, multi-year strategies, independent audit, and Treasury oversight.”