MPs’ business costs

Cat Smith

IPSA paid £2,093,490 against 1,234 published rows for Cat Smith between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Lancaster and Fleetwood CC, then Lancaster and Wyre 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, 2021-22

98 claims, £229,349 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	£181,421	79.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	74	£17,789	7.8%
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.	9	£22,766	9.9%
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.	13	£6,775	3.0%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	1	£598	0.3%

Every year in the register

Cat Smith’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2015-16 and the last is 2025-26. 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
2015-16	88	£119,778	£20,079	—	£8,922	£65	—	£148,843
2016-17	105	£136,225	£20,676	—	£8,901	£5,935	—	£171,738
2017-18	123	£139,097	£16,046	—	£6,896	—	—	£162,040
2018-19	142	£141,234	£17,491	£3,977	£5,474	—	—	£168,175
2019-20	187	£150,558	£22,040	£25,655	£10,490	—	—	£208,744
2020-21	118	£167,666	£18,232	£20,654	£3,862	—	—	£210,414
2021-22	98	£181,421	£17,789	£22,766	£6,775	—	£598	£229,349
2022-23	150	£217,499	£26,728	£4,665	£15,275	—	—	£264,167
2023-24	108	£201,149	£15,588	£26,132	£11,540	—	£912	£255,321
2024-25	75	£206,705	£13,086	£25,645	£15,267	—	—	£260,702
2025-26	40	£900	£10,531	£2,567	—	—	—	£13,998

A year in which Cat Smith 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, 2021-22

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£181,421

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	8	£8,527
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage	6	£1,907
Cleaning services	13	£1,539
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,513
Utilities	6	£926
Business rates	1	£636

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rent	1	£21,312
Council tax	2	£1,064
Utilities	6	£390

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Rail	5	£5,312
Mileage - car	2	£887
Parking	2	£308
Air travel	1	£235
Other public transport	2	£17
Taxi	1	£16

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	1	£598

Largest claims, 2021-22

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 2022	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2021-22 year	£181,421	£181,421
31 March 2022	Accommodation	Rent	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£21,312	£21,312
31 March 2022	MP Travel	Rail	Aggregated figure for travel during 2021-22	£5,090	£5,090
31 March 2022	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2021-22	£1,513	£1,513
8 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,132	£1,132
9 December 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,132	£1,132
9 September 2021	Office Costs	Rent	Rent	£1,132	£1,132
8 June 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,132	£1,132
21 August 2021	Accommodation	Council tax	LAMBETH INTERNET PAYM	£1,060	£1,060
24 March 2022	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,000	£1,000
23 December 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,000	£1,000
23 September 2021	Office Costs	Rent	Rent	£1,000	£1,000
24 June 2021	Office Costs	Rent	—	£1,000	£1,000
23 April 2021	Office Costs	Business rates	Business Rates for constituency office	£636	£636
21 September 2021	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600

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 Cat Smith 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 · Cat Smith’s register of interests and votes · Sources