MPs’ business costs

Chris Law

IPSA paid £2,464,582 against 2,402 published rows for Chris Law between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Dundee West BC, then Dundee Central BC. 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

198 claims, £210,355 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.	2	£139,748	66.4%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	174	£17,970	8.5%
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.	21	£20,610	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	£32,027	15.2%

Every year in the register

Chris Law’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	224	£82,715	£19,632	£14,832	£23,292	£5,978	—	£146,450
2016-17	198	£139,748	£17,970	£20,610	£32,027	—	—	£210,355
2017-18	213	£146,117	£18,778	£22,498	£18,758	—	£435	£206,585
2018-19	215	£146,058	£28,687	£23,139	£41,352	—	—	£239,235
2019-20	257	£152,096	£18,931	£20,828	£40,134	—	—	£231,988
2020-21	253	£170,700	£30,461	£21,199	£1,894	—	£2,000	£226,254
2021-22	192	£179,774	£19,522	£22,824	£20,069	—	—	£242,190
2022-23	312	£197,591	£33,948	£24,240	£38,648	—	—	£294,428
2023-24	254	£218,305	£24,455	£27,192	£35,494	—	—	£305,446
2024-25	213	£238,711	£26,801	£29,302	£49,977	—	—	£344,791
2025-26	71	—	£14,987	£1,874	—	—	—	£16,861

A year in which Chris Law 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	£129,248
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£10,500

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	8	£4,093
Const Office Electricity	3	£3,424
Const Office Rent 2	3	£2,953
Const Office Cleaning	60	£1,289
Other	8	£1,279
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	19	£1,263

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Accommodation Rent	9	£20,057
Electricity	6	£565
Council Tax	2	£502
Water	1	£223
Gas	2	£100
Budget Repayment (Accomm.)	1	£-837

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£32,027

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	£129,248	£129,248
31 March 2017	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2016-17	£32,027	£32,027
1 April 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	IPSA description - Partial transfer of rent from 15/16 to 16/17 budget	£14,151	£14,151
19 October 2016	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	SNP Group	£10,500	£10,500
23 January 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Electricity	Payment Card January 2017	£3,073	£3,073
11 February 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
11 January 2017	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
9 December 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
7 June 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
11 May 2016	Accommodation	Accommodation Rent	—	£1,668	£1,668
6 March 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	March 17 Payment Card	£1,431	£1,431
25 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	[*] [*]	£1,200	£1,200
14 November 2016	Office Costs	Other	Office Renovations November 20	£1,078	£1,078
23 January 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent 2	Payment Card January 2017	£1,015	£1,015
1 April 2016	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	[*] [] [**]	£937	£937

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 Law 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 Law’s register of interests and votes · Sources