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, 2018-19

143 claims, £197,003 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.126£177,18489.9%
Office costsRenting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.16£18,7219.5%
MiscellaneousClaims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.1£1,0980.6%

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, 2018-19

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

Staffing

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Payroll1£173,406
Professional Services (Staff.)2£2,560
Volunteer Agreed Arrang. Costs123£1,217

Office costs

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Const Office Rent4£14,400
Stationery Purchase4£1,601
Parliamentary Accountancy1£720
Const Office Buildings Insur.1£500
Computer SW Purchase1£500
Contents Insurance1£379

Miscellaneous

Cost typeClaimsPaid
Contingency1£1,098

Largest claims, 2018-19

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 2019StaffingPayrollTotal Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2018-19 year£173,406£173,406
19 December 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
24 September 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
27 June 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
1 April 2018Office CostsConst Office Rent£3,600£3,600
27 March 2019Office CostsStationery PurchaseBanner£1,428£1,428
28 February 2019StaffingProfessional Services (Staff.)[***] [***] Payment£1,280£1,280
31 January 2019StaffingProfessional Services (Staff.)[***] [***] Payment£1,280£1,280
1 April 2018Miscellaneous ExpensesContingencyContingency claim - Flights£1,098£1,098
28 March 2019Office CostsParliamentary AccountancyInsurance/Parli accountancy£720£720
6 September 2018Office CostsComputer SW PurchaseOffice Costs Sep18£500£500
25 June 2018Office CostsConst Office Buildings Insur.Office expenses June July 2018£500£500
27 March 2019Office CostsContents InsuranceInsurance/Parli accountancy£379£379
17 September 2018Office CostsTraining MP StaffOffice Costs Sep18£360£360
14 May 2018Office CostsConst Office ElectricityOffice expenses June July 2018£132£132

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