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, 2016-17

129 claims, £186,411 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.	1	£138,397	74.2%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	96	£21,524	11.5%
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.	31	£19,999	10.7%
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	£6,491	3.5%

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, 2016-17

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£138,397

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	4	£9,762
Professional Services	3	£5,103
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	31	£2,184
Const Office Electricity	4	£773
Const Office Water	15	£628
Waste Disposal	8	£530

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	15	£18,214
Council Tax	10	£1,118
Electricity	4	£455
Water	2	£212

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£6,491

Largest claims, 2016-17

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 2017	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2016-17 year	£138,397	£138,397
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£6,491	£6,491
16 May 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office costs May 2016	£5,166	£5,166
1 April 2016	Office Costs	Professional Services	Office Costs April 2016	£4,800	£4,800
12 August 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office costs August 2016	£2,336	£2,336
16 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
20 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
18 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
18 November 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
16 October 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
16 September 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
16 August 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
12 August 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	[***]	£1,517	£1,517
20 July 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,517	£1,517
16 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,450	£1,450

Claims refused and money repaid, 2016-17

2 claims carry an amount IPSA did not pay or an amount repaid to it: £0 not paid and £62 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