Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to repay more than £12,000 in expenses for cleaning, gardening and maintenance at his second home.

The repayment agreement came after auditor Sir Thomas Legg wrote to all MPs to highlight concerns which have arisen during his inquiry into expenses paid out over the past five years.

Sir Thomas said that any claim over £2,000 a year for cleaning or £1,000 for gardening is excessive and should be repaid.

So Mr Brown is to return £10,716.60 in relation to cleaning and £302.50 in the period 2004/05 to 2008/09.

The Prime Minister will also repay a £1,396 bill for painting and decorating from April 2006 which was inadvertently submitted twice, bringing the total to £12,415.10.

Mr Brown's adviser on the Ministerial Code, Sir Philip Mawer, has ruled that Sir Thomas's findings do not amount to a breach, said the Prime Minister's office.