Westminster authorities spent £100,000 on a lavish redecoration of the grace-and-favour house for the officer who oversees MPs’ expenses, The Times has discovered.

The property at 3 Parliament Street used by the Clerk, the Commons chief executive, received a top-of-the range makeover, with a £39,000 kitchen, bespoke furniture, including a “butler’s tray”, and granite work surfaces. The same inventory also lists two Ionic columns costing £963.

The spending was not scrutinised by MPs on the House of Commons Commission and has been criticised by members. The judgment of House of Commons officials has already come under fire after it emerged that they allowed Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton to claim rent for a property that they owned outright.

The refurbishment work was mostly carried out in 2006, the year that Malcolm Jack, the new clerk, took over, although some of the furnishings were installed after his arrival in spring last year.

Parliamentary sources said that Dr Jack would have been consulted during the makeover. The Clerk has sole use of 3 Parliament Street, worth £2.8 million on the open market, according to parliamentary authorities.

A spokesman for Parliament denied in November that the refurbishment was extravagant, telling a newspaper: “He has had a new kitchen, that’s all.” But The Times has seen documents calling this assertion into question. The extent of the overhaul includes:

- A new kitchen costing £39,146, including £2,694 for a granite work surface, £4,974 for appliances and £971 for flat-screen kitchen television and appliances.

- A guest bathroom for £4,652.

- A bespoke storage cupboard for £2,300, a Sherwood 2.5-seat sofa for £1,543 and black walnut Sherwood chairs for £3,666.

- A wood floor for £2,985, new carpets for £598 and a black slate hearth for £1,500. Curtains for £4,758.

- A butler’s tray and lamp table for £1,835 and knife-pleat empire lamp shades for £158.

The list also includes furniture polishing in the “patio area”, a ceramic table lamp, a £1,095 “deep clean” and the upholstering of chairs.

Several entries on the itemised list say only “furnishings” or “redecorations”. The total bill for spending on 45 separate items on the property between March 2005 and June 2007 is £102,254.82.

The Clerk acts as accounting officer for expenditure in the House of Commons, making him legally responsible for its budget and 1,600 employees. The Finance and Administration Department, often called the “Fees Office”, is answerable to both the House of Commons Commission and the Clerk as chief executive.

Sources involved in the running of Parliament said that MPs who oversee the administration of the Commons were not consulted on the refurbishment because it fell below the threshold for matters to be referred to MPs. The refurbishment would have been carried out by the works board, which comprises officers of the House. Sources added that it was right to carry out the refurbishment after the previous Clerk, Sir Roger Sands, left the job, but expressed surprised at the cost. These disclosures could lead to the threshold — of about £250,000 — being lowered.

This figure was reduced after MPs were not given the chance to approve the £435,000 cost of a covered walkway that connects two buildings inside Parliament. The parliamentary authorities refused last night to discuss the refurbishment.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP, said: “I have, sadly, formed the view over many years that there is no proper scrutiny of expenditure within the House.

“The House of Commons commission approves almost any Bill that comes before them and it’s even worse. There are some Bills that appear to not even to reach it. It’s clear that the House is writing itself blank cheques at the taxypayers’ expense.”

The building at 3 Parliament Street is the largest property used by senior officers, taking up 405 sq m (4,360 sq ft). Though only 6 sq m larger than 2 Parliament Street, occupied by the Serjeant at Arms, it is thought to be worth £600,000 more.

When asked by an MP whether any consideration had been given to turning accommodation at 2 and 3 Parliament Street and 4 Canon Row into office space for MPs and their staff, the House of Commons Commission said that the buildings were “structurally unsuitable for use as offices”.

In 1991 the services committee heard that the buildings were “frail and vulnerable, giving rise to loading problems, even in standard office use”, opening the way for the properties to be converted into residences.

The Serjeant at Arms told MPs in 2006 that part of the reason the buildings were unsuitable for office use was because of their Grade 1 listing, meaning that “there are very few opportunities for making structural changes which would allow an increase in the number of rooms available”.

Many of the items could be obtained more cheaply. The Sherwood chairs can be found online for about £160 each. Ikea’s “Egon” chairs, which are similar in design, cost £55. The list also included two Ionic columns at a cost of £963.50. The Featuredeco.co.uk website offered similar “Corinthian columns” in fibreglass for £226 each.

3 Parliament Street

The house was thought to have been built in the 1750s after the thoroughfare now known as Parliament Street was created in 1732 allowing for direct communication between Whitehall and Westminister for the first time.

The Clerk of the House of Commons has sole use of 3 Parliament Street.

It would be worth £2.8 million on the open market. 3 Parliament Street is thought to be most expensive property used by senior House of Commons officers.

The Serjeant at Arms lives at 2 Parliament Street - worth £2.2million.

The Speaker's secretary has 4 Canon Row, with a market value of £1.6 million.

The Clerk, Dr Malcolm Jack, is the most senior official in the Commons and advises the Speaker, Michael Martin, on rules and procedures. While he has his own accommodation – the latest estimate suggest about 30 MPs are still obliged to share offices because of a lack of space on the parliamentary estate. Scores more have put their researchers and staff in separate offices dotted around the Commons. Source: Times database

The bill:

Supply & fit kitchen in 3 Parliament Street £10,000

Ceramics table lamp & shade £466

Graphica (5927B/34) Natural GRA05002 etc & handling £1670.61

Supply & fit appliances £4,974

Curtaining 3 Parliament Street £1,244.32

Supply of lamp etc £1,040

Bespoke storage cupboard -Clerk’s Residence, 1PS £2,300

Redecorations to 3PS £2,038.92

Part redecoration works (3PS) £4,500

Sherwood chairs (black walnut feel) £3,666.38

Supply/fit polished black slate hearth etc. £1,500

Sherwood 2.5 seat sofa £1,543.30

Kitchen Furniture, LG LCD TV & delivery £971.06

Lamp table & Butler’s tray £1,835

Granite work tops £2,694.20

Kitchen works at 3PS £6,197.29

3PS internal redecorations £500

Work to Bespoke Fitment (3PS) £250

Sitting room wood floor (3PS) £2,985

3PS new kitchen works £5910.35

3PS Deep Clean £800

Deep clean to 3PS £295.75

Kitchen installation & other works as instructed £8,400

Other expenditure £30,760

Total £96,542.16

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