Civometry

MPs’ business costs

Chris Evans

IPSA paid £2,777,723 against 1,520 published rows for Chris Evans between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Islwyn CC, then Caerphilly 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, 2024-25

88 claims, £290,014 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.1£244,43284.3%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.69£16,8795.8%
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.7£23,9008.2%
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.8£4,6921.6%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.3£1110.0%

Every year in the register

Chris Evans’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.

YearClaimsStaffingOffice costsAccommodationTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-1163£75,634£16,524£12,105£5,797—£110,060
2011-12100£106,252£20,104£18,681£7,251—£152,288
2012-1393£124,211£20,460£19,904£6,739—£171,314
2013-14128£134,434£18,818£20,596£5,817£16£179,681
2014-1596£129,997£12,328£20,482£5,790—£168,597
2015-1694£127,426£16,948£21,350£5,608—£171,332
2016-1795£116,252£11,184£19,836£6,521—£153,794
2017-1887£128,824£12,030£20,472£4,501—£165,827
2018-1988£135,004£10,168£21,964£7,404—£174,540
2019-20105£148,602£10,536£20,156£6,200—£185,494
2020-2169£153,874£9,863£115£7,131—£170,983
2021-22100£168,960£15,266£3,965£9,211—£197,401
2022-23143£196,373£17,782£6,458£10,317—£230,929
2023-24145£203,440£23,222£16,640£7,052£95£250,449
2024-2588£244,432£16,879£23,900£4,692£111£290,014
2025-2626—£5,020———£5,020

A year in which Chris Evans 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, 2024-25

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£244,432

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£5,348
Pooled staffing services1£4,600
Landline phone & internet - rental & usage17£2,504
Equipment - hire17£1,400
Website hosting and design12£1,206
Software & applications2£1,034

Accommodation

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rent1£21,715
Hotel - London4£1,260
Council tax2£925

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Rail5£3,355
Mileage - car1£1,087
Congestion charge & toll1£240
Parking1£10

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Translation services (Welsh Language)3£111

Largest claims, 2024-25

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 2025StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2024-25 year£244,432£244,432
31 March 2025AccommodationRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£21,715£21,715
31 March 2025Office CostsRentAggregated figure for this business cost and budget category in 2024-25£5,348£5,348
12 April 2024Office CostsPooled staffing servicesParliamentary Research Service (Labour)£4,600£4,600
31 March 2025MP TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£2,474£2,474
31 March 2025MP TravelMileage - carAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£1,087£1,087
15 October 2024Office CostsSoftware & applicationsELECTED TECHNOLOGIES£720£720
21 October 2024AccommodationCouncil taxWWW.WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK£618£618
31 March 2025Staff TravelRailAggregated figure for travel during 2024-25£499£499
13 December 2024Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline£438£438
18 December 2024AccommodationHotel - London[***][***][***]£420£420
12 November 2024AccommodationHotel - LondonParliamentary Duties£420£420
21 March 2025Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline£392£392
30 September 2024Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline£388£388
8 July 2024Office CostsLandline phone & internet - rental & usageLandline£360£360

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 Evans 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 Evans’s register of interests and votes · Sources