STANDARDS in public life have come under intense scrutiny in the last fortnight, leaving public confidence at an all-time low.

Many MPs have second jobs, with some, like Sir Geoffrey Cox coining in vast sums on top of their already high salaries.

Freebies, cash for answering questions and donations from the private sector are also the source of deep concern.

FULL LIST: The North East MPs raking in thousands in donations and second jobs

This week, The Northern Echo lifts the lid on where MPs in our region get their income as part of our The Money Trail investigation tracing the cash behind our MPs.

We tracked the cash trail using the Register of Members' Financial Interests, and while there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, there are some surprising results.

We're publishing the records held for every MP in the North East and North Yorkshire to help you understand how your politician compares.

What's exactly on the register

There are ten main categories on the register, which is maintained and updated by the Parliamentary for Commissioner for Standards, and require an MP to declare, where appropriate.

MPs in England must declare additional paid employment (second jobs), donations, gifts, hospitality and any homes where the value is more than £100,000 and/or provides rental income of more than £10,000 a year.

They must also declare any shares they have which amount to more than 15 percent of the issues share capital of that company or more than 15 percent of a partnership, while they must declare any shares valued more than £70,000.

When it comes to family, MPs are required to declare whether any members are employed and receive more than £700 in a calendar year as this comes from taxpayers' money (parliamentary expenses).

MPs are also required to declare the details of any family members involved in "lobbying," which is when an individual tries to persuade someone in Parliament to support a specific policy or campaign.

What's on Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison's register 

These are the figures for Bishop Auckland's Conservative MP, Dehenna Davison as of Monday November 1. 

Ms Davison is paid £369 a week for appearing on GB News

The register shows that Ms Davison earns hundreds a week for appearing on GB News, which she hosts a programme on alongside former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.

The register states the following payments have been made to Ms Davison under the employment and earnings category. 

 - November 25, 2020, Ms Davison was paid £500 by News UK & Ireland Ltd for an article published in The Sun, which took two hours.

- June 13, 2021, Ms Davison started to present a weekly TV show on GB News with payments for up to four hours work beginning on August 23 of £369, each week.

- August 17, 2021, the MP received £200 from InvestIn Education for a speech, which took an hour to complete.

- August 18, 2021, Ms Davison received £275 from Ipsos MORI for a survey, which took an hour to complete.

- September 6, 2021, she also received £120 from YouGov for a survey, which took a further hour to complete.

Ms Davison received tickets to the Brit awards 

Ms Davison received a hospitality ticket to the Brit awards with a value of £900 on May 11, 2021 from BPI, based on Westminster Bridge Road in London. 

She is listed as the director of a PR firm

A public relations and communications company, DSD 22 Limited was set up on September 10, 2020 with Ms Davison listed as the company director.

Family members engaged in lobbying the public sector on behalf of a third party or client

There is a listing that states that until June 27, 2021, partner of Ahzaz Chowdhury, Senior Partner at Nudge Factory.

The Northern Echo contacted Dehenna Davison for comment.

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