MPs’ business costs

Sir Edward Leigh

IPSA paid £2,304,264 against 1,268 published rows for Sir Edward Leigh between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Gainsborough CC. 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, 2015-16

59 claims, £140,030 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	£126,162	90.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	26	£5,385	3.8%
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.	30	£3,768	2.7%
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	£4,714	3.4%

Every year in the register

Sir Edward Leigh’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	75	£74,915	£4,422	£2,907	£6,357	—	£88,602
2011-12	140	£111,229	£7,618	£6,553	£8,393	—	£133,793
2012-13	104	£123,247	£10,492	£4,580	£7,013	—	£145,332
2013-14	82	£116,793	£5,254	£6,138	£7,014	—	£135,199
2014-15	34	£122,256	£3,664	£207	£6,440	—	£132,567
2015-16	59	£126,162	£5,385	£3,768	£4,714	—	£140,030
2016-17	58	£133,060	£3,803	£3,126	£5,557	—	£145,546
2017-18	80	£133,350	£3,799	£5,962	£6,700	—	£149,811
2018-19	81	£134,940	£2,977	£5,150	£5,998	—	£149,064
2019-20	83	£132,736	£2,529	£5,269	£7,085	—	£147,620
2020-21	85	£151,195	£6,663	£5,409	£3,613	—	£166,881
2021-22	85	£151,533	£6,418	£5,570	£6,293	—	£169,814
2022-23	86	£164,609	£5,358	£5,990	£8,699	—	£184,656
2023-24	81	£172,337	£4,560	£6,330	£7,275	—	£190,502
2024-25	102	£195,220	£8,666	£6,630	£6,256	—	£216,772
2025-26	33	—	£1,922	£6,154	—	—	£8,076

A year in which Sir Edward Leigh 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, 2015-16

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

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£123,185
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£2,977

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Stationery Purchase	12	£3,068
Const Office Rent	12	£1,854
Advertising	1	£432
Tel/Mobile Purchase	1	£31

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Council Tax	1	£1,121
Water	2	£744
Gas	4	£725
Buildings Insurance	1	£466
Electricity	4	£284
Telephone Usage/Rental	12	£250

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£4,714

Largest claims, 2015-16

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 2016	Staffing	Payroll	Total payroll costs for the 2015-16 year	£123,185	£123,185
31 March 2016	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2015-16	£4,714	£4,714
24 July 2015	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRU	£2,977	£2,977
1 June 2015	Accommodation	Council Tax	Council Tax 2015/16	£1,121	£1,121
15 October 2015	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Payment Card October 2015	£640	£640
11 June 2015	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationery	£534	£534
10 June 2015	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Stationary	£534	£534
10 June 2015	Accommodation	Buildings Insurance	Accomodation May-Aug 2015	£466	£466
28 January 2016	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	Payment Card February 2016	£462	£462
7 December 2015	Office Costs	Advertising	Posters	£432	£432
3 March 2016	Accommodation	Water	Accommodation Jan-March 2016	£378	£378
6 August 2015	Accommodation	Water	Accomodation May-Aug 2015	£366	£366
3 March 2016	Accommodation	Gas	Accommodation Jan-March 2016	£352	£352
12 January 2016	Office Costs	Stationery Purchase	January 2016 Payment Card	£306	£306
1 July 2015	Accommodation	Gas	Accomodation May-Aug 2015	£217	£217

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 Sir Edward Leigh 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 · Sir Edward Leigh’s register of interests and votes · Sources