MPs’ business costs

Dame Diana Johnson

IPSA paid £2,952,269 against 2,853 published rows for Dame Diana Johnson between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Kingston upon Hull North BC, then Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham 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, 2011-12

190 claims, £154,928 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.	53	£120,683	77.9%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	75	£21,247	13.7%
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.	61	£4,368	2.8%
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	£8,630	5.6%

Every year in the register

Dame Diana Johnson’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.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	146	£78,989	£14,632	£4,054	£5,700	—	£103,376
2011-12	190	£120,683	£21,247	£4,368	£8,630	—	£154,928
2012-13	171	£130,793	£22,094	£4,701	£8,884	—	£166,472
2013-14	177	£135,872	£19,666	£9,038	£9,295	£845	£174,716
2014-15	177	£138,403	£23,088	£10,138	£9,740	—	£181,369
2015-16	200	£139,057	£22,620	£9,987	£8,668	—	£180,332
2016-17	176	£135,747	£22,220	£10,095	£9,844	—	£177,905
2017-18	167	£147,194	£23,841	£10,585	£5,945	—	£187,564
2018-19	172	£139,857	£23,486	£10,067	£11,932	£805	£186,147
2019-20	190	£151,890	£24,621	£9,096	£10,425	—	£196,032
2020-21	209	£188,651	£29,958	£10,631	£2,368	—	£231,607
2021-22	182	£184,019	£21,768	£10,567	£6,622	—	£222,977
2022-23	193	£200,375	£22,163	£12,516	£10,444	—	£245,497
2023-24	217	£212,979	£24,794	£12,513	£10,602	£757	£261,645
2024-25	187	£197,567	£23,944	£12,648	£10,225	£1,886	£246,269
2025-26	99	£13,798	£20,825	£808	—	—	£35,431

A year in which Dame Diana Johnson 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, 2011-12

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£112,663
Professional Services (Staff.)	14	£4,277
Pooled Staffing Services	3	£3,600
Public Tr Bus Int/Volntr	21	£99
Food & Drink Intern/Volunteer	14	£45

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	13	£10,670
Stationery Purchase	23	£3,159
Install/Maint Office Equip.	2	£1,583
Professional Services	3	£1,296
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	1	£1,057
Legal Expenses Insurance	1	£636

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	10	£1,639
Gas	12	£1,074
Water	12	£840
Electricity	12	£462
Home Contents Insurance	5	£146
Telephone Usage/Rental	2	£110

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£8,630

Largest claims, 2011-12

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 2012	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2011-12 year	£112,663	£112,663
31 March 2012	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2011-12	£8,630	£8,630
9 January 2012	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRS pooled service Jan-Mar2012	£1,200	£1,200
1 November 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	PRS pooled service Oct-Dec 11	£1,200	£1,200
10 August 2011	Office Costs	Professional Services	Pooled PRS service Jul-Sept11	£1,200	£1,200
26 April 2011	Staffing	Pooled Staffing Services	Pooled research services Apr11	£1,200	£1,200
27 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	Const office phone/internet	£1,057	£1,057
5 October 2011	Office Costs	Install/Maint Office Equip.	Folding machine annual maint	£961	£961
20 March 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 February 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 January 2012	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 December 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 November 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 October 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821
24 September 2011	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£821	£821

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 Dame Diana Johnson 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 · Dame Diana Johnson’s register of interests and votes · Sources