When Keir Starmer took up residence in the Downing Street flat, nearly £30,000 was allocated for its refurbishment.
The Prime Minister utilized nearly the full amount of taxpayer funds available for renovating and furnishing the No. 11 residence.
This expenditure, quietly disclosed in the latest Cabinet Office financial reports, comes as Sir Keir faces mounting scrutiny over Rachel Reeves’ housing situation.
After winning the general election in July of last year, the Labour leader and his family moved into the larger flat above No. 11, a choice often made by Prime Ministers for its spaciousness compared to the No. 10 apartment.
According to the financial accounts, £14,319.20 was spent on the refurbishment, with an additional £15,442.47 allocated for new furniture during the 2024-25 period.
Following his general election triumph in July last year Keir Starmer and his family moved into the flat above No11, which is often preferred by PMs as it is larger than the No10 apartment
The Prime Minister previously revealed a ‘cat ramp’ needed to be installed in the No11 flat to allow new kitten Prince and long term pet Jo-Jo to get in and out .
The flat’s previous resident, Jeremy Hunt, had personally funded new carpeting, while Rishi Sunak, during his tenure as Chancellor, chose to live above No. 10 and paid for its furnishings out of his own pocket.
The upkeep allowance is a long-standing perk of living in the grace-and-favour residences. But the PM and Chancellor also do not have to pay bills for energy or other utilities.
Instead they are charged a ‘benefit in kind’ that is capped at 10 per cent of their ministerial salaries. That means they contribute around £3,000 to cover all utilities and other expenses, and the sum will not go up.
Sir Keir, who earns £169,000 as PM and an MP, and Ms Reeves – paid around £161,000 – also benefit from some of the lowest council tax rates in the country in Westminster.
The Chancellor has been under heavy fire for illegally renting out her family home in South East London for around £3,200 a month since moving into the flat above 10 Downing Street. Ms Reeves has apologised for failing to get the licence needed under Southwark Council rules, with Sir Keir insisting she will keep her job.
The PM’s aides would not be drawn on what improvements were carried out to the No11 residence, although they stressed that the Cabinet Office owns the new furniture.
They also pointed out that as a historic listed building the costs of doing any works were high.
But Sir Keir previously revealed that a ‘cat ramp’ has been installed in the flat.
Prince, a new kitten who moved in last September, and long term pet Jo-Jo, had been struggling to get in and out because the apartment has a bomb-proof door that cannot take a cat flap.
‘There’s a little window that is big enough for a cat to get out of, but it’s on the first floor. And then we had to build a sort of wooden ramp down into the garden,’ Sir Keir told Virgin Radio in July.
‘So there’s this specially made ramp that the cats go up and down to get in and out of the garden, so that was one of the first things we had do.’
It is not clear whether the cat flap formed part of the costs.
Sir Keir also notoriously boycotted the Downing Street briefing room until £80,000 was spent repainting it, with the old decor regarded as too Tory-blue.
The departmental accounts stated: ‘Across successive governments, Prime Ministers have received an allowance of up to £30,000 a year on average to contribute towards the costs associated with routine redecoration and modernisation of the residency within the Downing Street estate.
The previous occupant of the No11 flat was Jeremy Hunt, who paid to have new carpets fitted out of his own pocket
Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata opted to live in the flat above No10 (pictured), which he fitted out at his own expense while serving as Chancellor
‘During 2024 to 2025 the Cabinet Office spent £14,319.20 on refurbishment and £15,442.47 on furnishing the empty flat.
‘Prime Ministers are given the choice of bringing their own items or allowing Cabinet Office to furnish on a modest basis in which case the items are permanently retained by Government.’
The 2023-24 financial year saw a zero spend on upkeep for the PM’s flat, and in 2022-23 it was £7,015. However, premiers have previously spent up to the £30,000 allowance.
