MPs’ business costs

Dawn Butler

IPSA paid £2,185,170 against 597 published rows for Dawn Butler between 2015-16 and 2025-26 as the member for Brent Central BC, then Brent East 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, 2020-21

65 claims, £221,017 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.	1	£204,389	92.5%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	62	£16,286	7.4%
Miscellaneous	Claims IPSA records under none of the headings above. Called “Miscellaneous Expenses” until 2018-19.	2	£342	0.2%

Every year in the register

Dawn Butler’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	Travel	Starting up and winding up	Miscellaneous	Total
2015-16	141	£134,771	£22,677	—	£5,651	—	£163,099
2016-17	87	£170,316	£26,320	—	—	—	£196,637
2017-18	45	£161,399	£25,122	—	—	—	£186,521
2018-19	43	£164,424	£27,313	—	—	£561	£192,298
2019-20	40	£165,728	£27,608	£457	—	—	£193,793
2020-21	65	£204,389	£16,286	—	—	£342	£221,017
2021-22	53	£208,858	£16,865	—	—	—	£225,723
2022-23	27	£217,204	£12,382	£101	—	£37,470	£267,156
2023-24	41	£217,978	£26,309	—	—	—	£244,287
2024-25	36	£266,312	£21,361	£13	—	—	£287,686
2025-26	19	—	£6,954	—	—	—	£6,954

A year in which Dawn Butler 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, 2020-21

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£204,389

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Postage & couriers	2	£4,885
Pooled staffing services	1	£3,600
Equipment - purchase	11	£1,818
Working From Home Allowance	1	£1,809
Stationery & printing	6	£1,666
Training - staff	6	£1,000

Miscellaneous

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Removals	2	£342

Largest claims, 2020-21

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 2021	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2020-21 year	£204,389	£204,389
27 May 2020	Office Costs	Pooled staffing services	Parliamentary Research Service (Labour)	£3,600	£3,600
22 April 2020	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	Printing and Postage of Letter to Constituency Business Owners COVID19	£2,995	£2,995
8 March 2021	Office Costs	Postage & couriers	ROYAL MAIL DOOR TO DOO	£1,891	£1,891
31 March 2021	Office Costs	Working From Home Allowance	Aggregated figure for 2020-21	£1,809	£1,809
11 February 2021	Office Costs	Stationery & printing	Coronavirus Advice Leaflet	£1,306	£1,306
2 September 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Computer, laptop, PC, tablet & accessories	£1,219	£1,219
7 August 2020	Office Costs	Software & applications	ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES	£600	£600
2 June 2020	Miscellaneous	Removals	Constituency Removal Cost- Van Hire Fee	£256	£256
10 June 2020	Office Costs	Equipment - purchase	Other office equipment	£219	£219
19 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	Training- Speech Writing/ Policy Research	£167	£167
19 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	Training- Speech Writing/ Policy Research	£167	£167
19 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	Training- Speech Writing/ Policy Research	£167	£167
19 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	Training- Speech Writing/ Policy Research	£167	£167
19 March 2021	Office Costs	Training - staff	Training- Speech Writing/ Policy Research	£167	£167

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 Dawn Butler 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 · Dawn Butler’s register of interests and votes · Sources