MPs’ business costs

Andy Burnham

IPSA paid £1,289,952 against 2,082 published rows for Andy Burnham between 2010-11 and 2017-18 as the member for Leigh CC. These are the costs of running an office and employing staff under IPSA’s rules. They are not salary, and the largest part of them is wages IPSA pays to the member’s employees rather than money the member receives.

By category, 2011-12

324 claims, £148,595 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

CategoryWhat it coversClaimsPaidShare
StaffingThe salaries and employment costs of the people an MP employs to run their office and casework. IPSA pays these directly; they are not money an MP receives.106£112,90676.0%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.179£14,4439.7%
AccommodationThe cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.38£14,92910.0%
TravelJourneys between the constituency and Westminster and within the constituency. Until 2018-19 IPSA published one travel category; from 2019-20 it publishes travel by the MP, by staff and by a dependant separately.1£6,3174.3%

Every year in the register

Andy Burnham’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2017-18. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, so a rise between two distant years is partly a rise in prices. Select a year to read it on its own.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelStarting up and winding upMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11148£101,345£11,324£10,770£5,731£129,170
2011-12324£112,906£14,443£14,929£6,317£148,595
2012-13444£134,288£20,982£17,564£6,163£178,997
2013-14509£134,129£22,371£19,283£5,263£181,046
2014-15336£138,892£22,755£18,425£5,583£185,655
2015-16156£144,229£26,813£18,966£5,106£195,114
2016-17129£138,397£21,524£19,999£6,491£186,411
2017-1836£10,713£3,465£2,015£519£67,079£1,173£84,964

A year in which Andy Burnham joined or left the House part-way through is a part year, and is not comparable with a full one.

What each category is made of, 2011-12

The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£111,525
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer40£654
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr31£346
Own Vehicle Car Intern/Vlntr21£159
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr4£125
Food & Drink Int/Volntr9£97

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent1£5,166
Stationery Purchase21£1,266
Const Office Electricity4£1,090
Computer HW Purchase1£1,009
Payment Telephone/Mobile8£863
Professional Services21£706

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Mortgage Interest11£10,740
Service Charges6£2,475
Council Tax9£860
Water8£364
Electricity1£230
Television Licence2£170

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£6,317

Largest claims, 2011-12

The 15 rows IPSA paid most against, with IPSA’s own description of each. Read the description before the amount: IPSA publishes most of a member’s staffing as one row for the whole year — “Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the ⟨year⟩ year” — so the largest row here is usually a year of wages for the member’s employees and not something bought.

DateCategoryCost typeDescriptionClaimedPaid
31 March 2012StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2011-12 year£111,525£111,525
31 March 2012TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2011-12£6,317£6,317
28 September 2011Office CostsConst Office RentCO costs to end Sept '11£5,166£5,166
27 May 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestLondon Flat expenses end May£3,750£3,750
20 January 2012Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseCO costs Jan 2012£1,009£1,009
23 December 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB London flat Dec 2011£750£750
17 November 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB flat Nov 2011£750£750
20 October 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB London Flat Oct£750£750
28 September 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestLondon Flat expenses£750£750
26 August 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB flat to end Aug£750£750
14 July 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB Lndn flat to end July£750£750
23 June 2011AccommodationMortgage InterestAB London Flat ot end of June£750£750
23 March 2012AccommodationMortgage InterestMI Jan / Feb/ Mar 2012£580£580
23 February 2012AccommodationMortgage InterestMI Jan / Feb/ Mar 2012£580£580
23 January 2012AccommodationMortgage InterestMI Jan / Feb/ Mar 2012£580£580

What this page does not show

Whether any of it was justified. IPSA accepted these claims under its own rules and the register records what was paid, not whether it should have been. A large total is not a finding about the member.

Nor how Andy Burnham compares with another member. After staffing the largest headings are accommodation and travel, and both are decided mostly by where a constituency is: a member several hundred miles from Westminster is eligible for costs a member with a London seat is not. Two members’ totals are two sets of rules as much as two sets of choices, and the length of service differs too.

It is also not pay. IPSA sets and publishes MPs’ salaries separately and they are not in this register; the staffing figure here is the salaries of the member’s employees.

All MPs’ business costs · Andy Burnham’s register of interests and votes · Sources