Thousands of pages of data have been put online

Holyrood Presiding Officer George Reid said that it was now "one of the most open and accountable systems of any parliament in the world".

The claims were from the first two quarters of 2005/06. The cost of putting them online was about �40,000.

This included scanning 15,000 pages of data, creating the search facility and hosting the service on the internet.

The process also required extensive input from the parliament's Allowances Office, on the checking of scanned and linked data.

Quarters 3 and 4 data will be scanned and uploaded onto the system later this year.

The public have a right to know how their representatives are spending the allowances provided to help them do their jobs Presiding Officer George Reid

Mr Reid said: "The Scottish Parliament is honouring its pledge to deliver transparency and accountability.

"The public have a right to know how their representatives are spending the allowances provided to help them do their jobs.

"I believe now that the level of access to our allowances information creates a level of public scrutiny which will establish us as one of the most open and accountable systems of any parliament in the world."

Each page of scanned information has been electronically linked to each MSP against each possible search criteria.

'Open system'

In addition to the scanning process, every single entry had to be checked for potential third party information and for issues of personal security.

Liberal Democrat MSP Nora Radcliffe, who chairs the all-party working group on allowances, said the move demonstrated MSPs' commitment to openness and accountability.

"From the work we carried out, it is clear we must take into account the safety of members and the privacy of the constituents they represent while we strive for the most open parliamentary system in the world," she said.

"I believe that the online system strikes that balance."