MPs’ business costs

Chris Bryant

IPSA paid £2,911,335 against 1,779 published rows for Chris Bryant between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Rhondda CC, then Rhondda and Ogmore 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

108 claims, £181,871 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.	4	£142,720	78.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	95	£18,242	10.0%
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.	8	£8,735	4.8%
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	£12,174	6.7%

Every year in the register

Chris Bryant’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 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	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	114	£90,223	£11,891	£15,558	£8,208	£1,700	£127,580
2011-12	126	£105,343	£12,447	£19,774	£9,475	—	£147,039
2012-13	112	£119,456	£13,668	£19,915	£10,643	—	£163,682
2013-14	128	£119,773	£15,287	£20,061	£10,823	—	£165,944
2014-15	90	£118,594	£12,853	£20,553	£8,133	—	£160,134
2015-16	116	£134,669	£15,014	£9,862	£9,271	£1,758	£170,574
2016-17	108	£142,720	£18,242	£8,735	£12,174	—	£181,871
2017-18	109	£131,119	£21,828	£8,849	£10,881	—	£172,677
2018-19	92	£139,343	£24,198	£5,150	£12,955	£650	£182,297
2019-20	144	£135,997	£24,849	£5,266	£16,779	—	£182,892
2020-21	96	£172,596	£18,425	£10,409	£4,315	—	£205,746
2021-22	131	£177,519	£21,720	£6,390	£10,157	—	£215,786
2022-23	136	£223,681	£17,185	—	£12,377	—	£253,242
2023-24	144	£229,252	£30,776	£6,329	£19,169	—	£285,526
2024-25	88	£238,344	£21,255	£6,630	£10,893	—	£277,121
2025-26	45	£1,950	£10,403	£6,870	—	—	£19,223

A year in which Chris Bryant 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	£141,338
Staff Training Costs	2	£782
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£600

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	11	£7,370
Stationery Purchase	19	£3,589
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	23	£3,093
Advertising	8	£1,370
Const Office Gas	3	£623
Computer SW Purchase	1	£400

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	2	£6,307
Council Tax	1	£1,964
Water	1	£314
Internet	2	£76
Telephone Usage/Rental	2	£74

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£12,174

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	£141,338	£141,338
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£12,174	£12,174
28 September 2016	Accommodation	Service Charges	Service charge	£3,881	£3,881
7 April 2016	Accommodation	Service Charges	accommodation 2016-7	£2,426	£2,426
7 April 2016	Accommodation	Council Tax	Payment Card April 2016	£1,964	£1,964
10 March 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent / Costs	£1,375	£1,375
9 December 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Rent etc December 2016	£1,375	£1,375
30 September 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Claim Sept 2016	£1,375	£1,375
18 August 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Costs Claim August 2016	£1,265	£1,265
7 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	Office Rent April to June 16	£1,075	£1,075
21 October 2016	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£918	£918
4 January 2017	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Banner	£779	£779
25 January 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£600	£600
24 March 2017	Office Costs	Advertising	Surgery Advert	£400	£400
16 January 2017	Office Costs	Computer SW Purchase	January 2017 Claim	£400	£400

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 Chris Bryant 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 · Chris Bryant’s register of interests and votes · Sources