MPs’ business costs

Mr David Lammy

IPSA paid £3,026,378 against 3,947 published rows for Mr David Lammy between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Tottenham 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, 2010-11

416 claims, £173,808 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.368£154,62689.0%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.47£17,58710.1%
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.1£1,5950.9%

Every year in the register

Mr David Lammy’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 costsTravelMiscellaneousTotal
2010-11416£154,626£17,587£1,595£173,808
2011-12414£144,581£20,899£1,707£167,188
2012-13378£141,363£22,642£2,272£166,277
2013-14460£143,535£21,907£1,977£167,419
2014-15304£145,517£25,900£484£171,900
2015-16590£139,719£22,019£2,045£163,782
2016-17244£144,621£18,119£2,401£165,141
2017-18385£155,753£17,876£1,876£175,505
2018-19143£177,184£18,721£1,098£197,003
2019-2074£163,433£22,374£16,207£202,014
2020-2155£187,179£24,687£115£211,981
2021-2266£214,050£27,898£241,948
2022-23143£235,219£28,582£263,800
2023-24154£248,874£34,620£283,494
2024-2595£240,402£27,433£267,835
2025-2626£78£7,204£7,282

A year in which Mr David Lammy 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, 2010-11

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£152,233
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer261£849
Public Tr UND Int/Volntr73£785
Public Tr RAIL Other Int/Volnt32£738
Public Tr OTHER Int/Volntr1£21

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent3£7,777
Computer HW Purchase2£3,035
Computer SW Purchase2£2,385
Stationery Purchase21£1,678
Other6£1,315
Office Furniture Purchase3£347

Travel

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Aggregated Travel Costs1£1,595

Largest claims, 2010-11

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 2011StaffingPayrollTotal payroll costs for the 2010-11 year£152,233£152,233
10 March 2011Office CostsConst Office RentMarch CORE£3,600£3,600
21 January 2011Office CostsConst Office RentJanuary February CORE£2,400£2,400
21 February 2011Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseFebruary Gen Expenses£2,202£2,202
17 March 2011Office CostsComputer SW PurchaseGAE - March 2011 (CMITS)£2,078£2,078
17 December 2010Office CostsConst Office RentDecember January rent WHL£1,777£1,777
31 March 2011TravelAggregated Travel CostsAggregated figure for travel during 2010-11£1,595£1,595
10 February 2011Office CostsOtherFebruary Gen Expenses£1,247£1,247
21 February 2011Office CostsComputer HW PurchaseFebruary Gen Expenses£833£833
4 March 2011Office CostsOffice Furniture PurchaseMarch GAE£315£315
21 February 2011Office CostsBusiness RatesJanuary February CORE£312£312
20 July 2010Office CostsComputer SW PurchaseAugust expenses£307£307
11 March 2011Office CostsContents InsuranceMarch CORE£265£265
1 February 2011Office CostsPrinter PurchaseFebruary Gen Expenses£199£199
5 November 2010Office CostsStationery PurchaseOct Nov Gen expenses£183£183

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 Mr David Lammy 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 · Mr David Lammy’s register of interests and votes · Sources