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, 2012-13

444 claims, £178,997 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The 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.	203	£134,288	75.0%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	214	£20,982	11.7%
Accommodation	The 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.	26	£17,564	9.8%
Travel	Journeys 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	£6,163	3.4%

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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	148	£101,345	£11,324	£10,770	£5,731	—	—	£129,170
2011-12	324	£112,906	£14,443	£14,929	£6,317	—	—	£148,595
2012-13	444	£134,288	£20,982	£17,564	£6,163	—	—	£178,997
2013-14	509	£134,129	£22,371	£19,283	£5,263	—	—	£181,046
2014-15	336	£138,892	£22,755	£18,425	£5,583	—	—	£185,655
2015-16	156	£144,229	£26,813	£18,966	£5,106	—	—	£195,114
2016-17	129	£138,397	£21,524	£19,999	£6,491	—	—	£186,411
2017-18	36	£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, 2012-13

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£131,421
Public Tr RAIL Int/Volntr - RT	39	£797
Food & Drink Int/Volntr	106	£671
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr	14	£509
Own Vehicle Car Int/Volntr	22	£505
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr	19	£351

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	1	£5,166
Professional Services	19	£3,016
Stationery Purchase	41	£2,951
Business Rates	2	£2,925
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	29	£2,250
Const Office Electricity	4	£1,101

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	10	£14,500
Mortgage Interest	3	£1,410
Council Tax	7	£1,100
Gas	1	£237
Water	4	£172
Television Licence	1	£146

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,163

Largest claims, 2012-13

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.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2013	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2012-13 year	£131,421	£131,421
31 March 2013	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2012-13	£6,163	£6,163
18 April 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	CO costs April 2012	£5,166	£5,166
23 November 2012	Office Costs	Business Rates	Office Costs Oct Nov 2012	£2,925	£2,925
9 November 2012	Office Costs	Professional Services	CO Nov 2012	£2,800	£2,800
18 March 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
18 February 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
17 January 2013	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
19 December 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
19 November 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
17 October 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
17 September 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
17 September 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
16 August 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450
25 July 2012	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	New Flat July 2012	£1,450	£1,450

Claims refused and money repaid, 2012-13

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £2,702 repaid. A refusal is not a finding of wrongdoing — most are claims outside the scheme’s rules, or submitted without the evidence IPSA requires — and it is shown because leaving it out would show only the money that went out.

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